rape
/ˈɹeɪ̯p/
"rape" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“rape” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,127 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #3,127
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act of forcing sex upon another person without their consent or against their will; originally coitus forced by a man on a woman, but now generally any sex act forced by any person upon another...
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | rape |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɹeɪ̯p/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #3,127 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “rape” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for rape is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɹeɪ̯p/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,127 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for rape, with forms such as "arpe", "raep", and "rappe". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "re", "RP", "ray", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English rapen, rappen (“to abduct; ravish; seduce; rape; seize; snatch; carry off; transport”), probably from Latin rapiō (verb), possibly through or influenced by Anglo-Norman rap, rape (noun) (compare also ravish). But compare Swedish rappa (“… The correct English form is rape, spelled R-A-P-E.
Definition
- 1The act of forcing sex upon another person without their consent or against their will; originally coitus forced by a man on a woman, but now generally any sex act forced by any person upon another person, regardless of gender; by extension, any non-consensual sex act forced on, perpetrated by, or forced to penetrate any being.
- 2An experience that is pleasant for one party and unpleasant for the other, particularly when the unwilling partner's suffering is worse than necessary.
- 3An experience that is pleasant for one party and unpleasant for the other, particularly when the unwilling partner's suffering is worse than necessary.
- 4The taking of something by force; seizure, plunder.
- 5The abduction of a woman, especially for sexual purposes.
- 6That which is snatched away.
- 7Movement, as in snatching; haste; hurry.
Etymology
From Middle English rapen, rappen (“to abduct; ravish; seduce; rape; seize; snatch; carry off; transport”), probably from Latin rapiō (verb), possibly through or influenced by Anglo-Norman rap, rape (noun) (compare also ravish). But compare Swedish rappa (“to snatch, seize, carry off”), Low German rapen (“to snatch, seize”), Dutch rapen (“to pick up, gather, collect”); the relationship with Germanic forms is not clear. Cognate with Lithuanian reikėti (“to be in need”). Compare also rap (“seize, snatch”). Further, some senses may be from Etymology 3, an Old Norse word.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: arpe,raep,rappe,rpae,rrape
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of rape - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “rape”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-A-P-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɹeɪ̯p/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “re” - see the side-by-side comparison. rape vs re
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.