I. rap 1 /ræp/ BrE AmE 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 SYN 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.
II. rap 2 BrE AmE 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 SYN 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
• • •
THESAURUS
■ to hit something
▪ 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.
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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.
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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.
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A crowd of people were outside hammering on the door angrily.