rap 1
(răp)v. rapped, rap·ping, raps
v.tr.1. To hit sharply and swiftly; strike: rapped the table with his fist.
2. To utter sharply: rap out a complaint.
3. To criticize or blame.
v.intr. To strike a quick light blow: rapped on the door.
n.1. A quick light blow or knock.
2. A knocking or tapping sound.
3. Slang a. A reprimand.
b. A sentence to serve time in prison.
4. Slang A negative quality or characteristic associated with a person or an object.
Idioms: beat the rap Slang To escape punishment or be acquitted of a charge.
take the rap Slang To accept punishment or take the blame for an offense or error.
[Middle English rappen, possibly of imitative origin.]
rap 2
(răp)n. Informal The least bit: I don't give a rap about office politics. I don't care a rap what you do.
[From obsolete rap, 18th-century Irish counterfeit halfpenny, from Irish Gaelic, alteration (possibly influenced by rap, piece, bit) of ropaire, cutthroat; see rapparee.]
rap 3
(răp)n.1. Slang A talk, conversation, or discussion.
2. a. A form of popular music developed especially in African-American urban communities and characterized by spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics with a strong rhythmic accompaniment.
b. A composition or performance of such music.
v. rapped, rap·ping, raps
v.intr.1. Slang To discuss something freely and at length.
2. To perform rap music.
v.tr. To perform as rap music: lyrics that were rapped; rapped the chorus of the song.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.