# reap

> English word · Verb · IPA /ɹiːp/ · frequency rank #14,394

## Definitions
1. To cut (for example a grain) with a sickle, scythe, or reaping machine
2. To gather (e.g. a harvest) by cutting.
3. To obtain or receive as a reward, in a good or a bad sense.
4. To terminate a child process that has previously exited, thereby removing it from the process table.
5. To deprive of the beard; to shave.
6. rape

## Etymology
From Middle English repen, from Old English rēopan, rēpan, variants of Old English rīpan (“to reap”), from Proto-West Germanic *rīpan, from Proto-Germanic *rīpaną (compare West Frisian repe, Norwegian ripa (“to score, scratch”)), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyb- (“to snatch”).

## Easily confused with
- **RP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reap-vs-rp)
- **red** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reap-vs-red)
- **rep** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reap-vs-rep)
- **rip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reap-vs-rip)
- **rev** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reap-vs-rev)
- **ref** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reap-vs-ref)
- **rex** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reap-vs-rex)
- **res** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reap-vs-res)
- **Rey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reap-vs-rey)
- **reg** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reap-vs-reg)
- **RNA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reap-vs-rna)
- **rec** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reap-vs-rec)
- **ren** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reap-vs-ren)
- **REM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reap-vs-rem)
- **ret** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reap-vs-ret)
- **RSA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reap-vs-rsa)
- **rei** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reap-vs-rei)
- **rel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reap-vs-rel)
- **ria** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reap-vs-ria)
- **reb** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reap-vs-reb)

## Common misspellings (4)
`erap`, `reapp`, `repa`, `rreap`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/reap