rap
[verb]
Synonyms:
- hit, crack, knock, strike, tap
[noun]
Synonyms:
- blow, clout (informal), crack, knock, tap
- punishment, blame, responsibility

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English Thesaurus: hit, beat, strike, punch, thump, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. rap¹ /ræp/ noun
[Sense 1: Date: 1900-2000; Origin: Perhaps from repartee]
[Sense 2-7: Date: 1200-1300; Origin: Probably from the sound]

1. MUSIC [uncountable and countable] (also rap music) a type of popular music in which the words of a song are not sung, but spoken in time to music with a steady beat:
a popular rap song

2. KNOCK [countable] a series of quick sharp hits or knocks ⇒ tap:
She was woken by a sharp rap on the door.

3. CRIME [countable] American English informal a statement by the police saying that someone is responsible for a serious crime Synonym : charge
murder/robbery etc rap
The kid’s been cited twice on drunk-driving raps. ⇒ rap sheet

4. take the rap (for something) to be blamed or punished for a mistake or crime, especially unfairly:
Bo was left to take the rap for Victor’s murder.

5. beat the rap American English informal to avoid being punished for a crime

6. a rap on/over the knuckles
a) informal a punishment or criticism that is not very severe:
The New York Post received an official rap over the knuckles for the way it reported the story.
b) if someone gives a child a rap on the knuckles, they hit them on the back of their hand as a punishment

7. a bum/bad rap especially American English informal unfair treatment or punishment:
Cleveland always gets a bum rap in the press.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. rap² verb (past tense and past participle rapped, present participle rapping)

1. HIT [intransitive and transitive] to hit or knock something quickly several times ⇒ tap:
She rapped the table with her pen.
rap on/at
Angrily she rapped on his window.

2. MUSIC [intransitive] to say the words of a rap song

3. CRITICIZE [transitive] to criticize someone angrily – used especially in news reports Synonym : slam:
a film rapped by critics for its excessive violence

4. SAY (also rap out) [transitive] to say something loudly, suddenly, and in a way that sounds angry:
‘Come on,’ he rapped impatiently.

5. rap somebody on/over the knuckles (also rap sb’s knuckles)
a) to punish or criticize someone for something, but not very severely:
He had his knuckles rapped sharply for meddling in foreign policy.
b) to punish a child by hitting them on the back of their hand

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

rap
verb
ADV. sharply He rapped sharply on the door.
gently
PREP. on, with rapping on the window with his stick

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

hit to hit someone quickly and hard with your hand, a stick etc:
He hit him hard in the stomach.
I don’t like to see people hitting a dog.
beat to hit someone deliberately many times, especially very hard:
The girl had been beaten to death.
He was beating the donkey with a stick.
strike written to hit someone with your hand or a weapon. Strike is more formal than hit and is mainly used in written English:
Her husband struck her twice across the face.
Police say that the man had been struck on the head.
punch to hit someone hard with your closed hand, especially in a fight:
I punched him on the nose.
She was screaming and punching him with her fists.
thump /θʌmp/ informal to punch someone very hard:
Sometimes I just want to thump him.
beat somebody up to hurt someone badly in a violent attack, by hitting them many times:
If I tell the police, they'll beat me up.
He had been beaten up and tortured with lighted cigarettes.
slap to hit someone with your open hand, especially because you are angry with them:
They had a big row and she ended up slapping him.
spank (also smack especially British English) to hit someone, especially a child, with your open hand in order to punish them:
Should a parent ever smack a child?
I don’t agree with smacking.
In those days, children were spanked if they behaved badly.
knock to hit a door or window with your closed hand in order to attract the attention of the people inside:
Someone was knocking on the door.
I knocked loudly but no one came.
whack /wæk/ informal to hit something very hard:
Edmonds whacked the ball into the air.
bash to hit something hard, especially in a way that causes damage:
The police had to bash the door down to get in.
tap to gently hit something with your fingers, often in order to attract someone’s attention:
I tapped him on the shoulder.
I heard someone tapping on the window.
rap to knock quickly or hit something several times:
He rapped the table with his pen to bring the meeting to order.
Two police officers rapped on the door at 7 o'clock in the morning.
bang to suddenly hit something hard, in a way that makes a loud noise:
Her father banged his fist down on the table angrily.
The door suddenly banged shut.
pound written to hit something many times with a lot of force:
I could hear the sea pounding on the rocks.
She pounded on the door and shouted wildly.
hammer written to hit something quickly many times making a loud continuous noise:
The rain was hammering on the roof.
A crowd of people were outside hammering on the door angrily.
bump to hit a part of your body against something, especially because you do not see or notice it:
Careful you don’t bump your head – the ceiling’s very low.
bang/bash to hit something hard, so that you hurt yourself or damage something:
He banged into the car in front.
I bashed my knee climbing over a gate.
She fell and bashed her chin on the ground.
stub to hit your toe against something and hurt it:
I stubbed my toe on the piano leg.
bestseller a book that a lot of people buy:
His prize-winning book ‘A Year in Provence’ became an international bestseller.
blockbuster a film that a lot of people watch, especially an exciting film:
a Hollywood blockbuster
a blockbuster movie
sell-out a concert, sports event etc which so many people want to see that all the tickets are sold:
The concert was a sell-out.
the band’s sell-out tour of the US
cult movie/band/figure etc a film, band, person etc that has become very popular and fashionable with a particular group of people:
a cult TV programme
craze something that suddenly becomes popular, so that a lot of people do it, buy it etc:
the latest dance craze that has been sweeping the US
the craze for ultra expensive designer jeans
fad informal something that is very popular for a short time – used about something that you disapprove of, which you do not think will last for very long:
Most diets are just fads.
I think it’s a passing fad.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

hit:
Jack hit the ball and it flew over the fence
knock to hit a door or window with your closed hand in order to attract the attention of the people inside:
Someone was knocking on the door.
I knocked loudly but no one came.
strike written to hit a surface. Strike is more formal than hit and is mainly used in written English:
The ball struck the side of the goal.
whack /wæk/ informal to hit something very hard:
Edmonds whacked the ball into the air.
bash to hit something hard, especially in a way that causes damage:
The police had to bash the door down to get in.
tap to gently hit something with your fingers, often in order to attract someone’s attention:
I tapped him on the shoulder.
I heard someone tapping on the window.
rap to knock quickly or hit something several times:
He rapped the table with his pen to bring the meeting to order.
Two police officers rapped on the door at 7 o'clock in the morning.
bang to suddenly hit something hard, in a way that makes a loud noise:
Her father banged his fist down on the table angrily.
The door suddenly banged shut.
pound written to hit something many times with a lot of force:
I could hear the sea pounding on the rocks.
She pounded on the door and shouted wildly.
hammer written to hit something quickly many times making a loud continuous noise:
The rain was hammering on the roof.
A crowd of people were outside hammering on the door angrily.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

rap
̈ɪræp
See: take the rap

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲