1
: unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against a person's will or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent because of mental illness, mental deficiency, intoxication, unconsciousness, or deception compare sexual assault, statutory rape
2
: an outrageous violation
3
: an act or instance of robbing or despoiling or carrying away a person by force
raped; raping
raper
noun
Synonyms
Examples of rape in a Sentence
Noun (1)
an international law defining rape as a war crime
the legend of the rape of the Sabine women by the ancient Romans was frequently depicted in classical art
Verb
He is accused of raping the girl.
She was raped by a fellow student.
Recent Examples on the Web
Sara Schilling, Sacramento Bee, 7 Feb. 2025
At least 165 women were raped by male inmates after a mass breakout from a prison in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations said, citing officials in the central African nation.
—Astha Rajvanshi, NBC News, 6 Feb. 2025
An investigation initiated after their deaths discovered that Pearce had raped several women across more than a decade.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Feb. 2025
The arrest warrant said that even six months later, a Sandbar bartender recalled the woman coming back into the bar, asking for water and saying she’d been raped by a man in a white car.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 5 Feb. 2025
Hundreds of women were raped and burned to death after a mass jailbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following the seizure of a major city by militants.
—Nicole Acosta, People.com, 5 Feb. 2025
Detectives on Tuesday arrested a man accused of repeatedly raping a 5-year-old girl in Staten Island, police said.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2025
In an ideal world, the findings from Cleveland and Detroit would incentivize law enforcement to pay more serious attention to the allegations of, say, a woman who was raped by a friend at a party after a night of heavy drinking.
—Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
To summarize the film, a young couple — Iris (Sophie Thatcher) and Josh (Jack Quaid) — is on a trip with friends when Iris is nearly raped by another man, Sergey (played by Rupert Friend).
—William Earl, Variety, 1 Feb. 2025
EW.com, 7 Feb. 2025
McAndrews, who wrote her master’s thesis on rape revenge films, quickly understood Alvey’s fresh vision.
—William Earl, Variety, 5 Feb. 2025
Karkar was booked at the San Francisco County Jail on charges of rape by force or violence, false imprisonment, assault with a deadly weapon, first-degree robbery, and damaging a wireless communication device.
—Stepheny Price, Fox News, 5 Feb. 2025
In the years leading up to U.S. involvement in the Pacific, the Imperial Japanese Army did deplorable things in China that amounted to mass murder, as well as rape, torture, medical experimentation, and forced labor.
—Kevin Chroust, Outside Online, 5 Feb. 2025
On December 26, Torres refused Jay-Z's application to dismiss the rape lawsuit.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
Reports of rape increased by nearly 19%, the report said.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 31 Jan. 2025
In a year where Diddy was public enemy No. 1 for his allegations, lawsuits, and eventual arrest, JAY-Z also found himself in the mix via a rape lawsuit filed in December 2024.
—Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 30 Jan. 2025
Always a controversial figure, reports of Brand's alleged rape and assaults pushed him permanently out of public grace.
—Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
Read Next National Stranger broke into home, raped mom in 1992, Virginia officials say.
—Sara Schilling, Sacramento Bee, 7 Feb. 2025
At least 165 women were raped by male inmates after a mass breakout from a prison in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations said, citing officials in the central African nation.
—Astha Rajvanshi, NBC News, 6 Feb. 2025
An investigation initiated after their deaths discovered that Pearce had raped several women across more than a decade.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Feb. 2025
The arrest warrant said that even six months later, a Sandbar bartender recalled the woman coming back into the bar, asking for water and saying she’d been raped by a man in a white car.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 5 Feb. 2025
Hundreds of women were raped and burned to death after a mass jailbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following the seizure of a major city by militants.
—Nicole Acosta, People.com, 5 Feb. 2025
Detectives on Tuesday arrested a man accused of repeatedly raping a 5-year-old girl in Staten Island, police said.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2025
In an ideal world, the findings from Cleveland and Detroit would incentivize law enforcement to pay more serious attention to the allegations of, say, a woman who was raped by a friend at a party after a night of heavy drinking.
—Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
To summarize the film, a young couple — Iris (Sophie Thatcher) and Josh (Jack Quaid) — is on a trip with friends when Iris is nearly raped by another man, Sergey (played by Rupert Friend).
—William Earl, Variety, 1 Feb. 2025
Noun
In 2018, he was accused of rape by a woman who worked as his children's former nanny in 2018.
—EW.com, 7 Feb. 2025
McAndrews, who wrote her master’s thesis on rape revenge films, quickly understood Alvey’s fresh vision.
—William Earl, Variety, 5 Feb. 2025
Karkar was booked at the San Francisco County Jail on charges of rape by force or violence, false imprisonment, assault with a deadly weapon, first-degree robbery, and damaging a wireless communication device.
—Stepheny Price, Fox News, 5 Feb. 2025
In the years leading up to U.S. involvement in the Pacific, the Imperial Japanese Army did deplorable things in China that amounted to mass murder, as well as rape, torture, medical experimentation, and forced labor.
—Kevin Chroust, Outside Online, 5 Feb. 2025
On December 26, Torres refused Jay-Z's application to dismiss the rape lawsuit.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
Reports of rape increased by nearly 19%, the report said.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 31 Jan. 2025
In a year where Diddy was public enemy No. 1 for his allegations, lawsuits, and eventual arrest, JAY-Z also found himself in the mix via a rape lawsuit filed in December 2024.
—Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 30 Jan. 2025
Always a controversial figure, reports of Brand's alleged rape and assaults pushed him permanently out of public grace.
—Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2025
Dictionary Entries Near rape
Cite this Entry
“Rape.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rape. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rape
1 of 3 noun
: an herb related to the mustards that is grown for animals to graze on and for its seeds which are used as birdseed and as a source of oil
compare canola
rape
2 of 3 verb
raped; raping
1
archaic
: to take away by force
2
: to have sexual relations with by force
raper
noun
rape
3 of 3 noun
: an act or instance of raping
Etymology
Noun
Middle English rape "the herb rape," from Latin rapa, rapum "turnip, rape"
Verb
Middle English rapen "to take away by force," from Latin rapere "to seize"
Medical Definition
rape
1 of 3 noun
: a European herb (Brassica napus) of the mustard family grown as a forage crop and for its seeds which yield rapeseed oil and are a bird food see canola sense 1
rape
2 of 3 transitive verb
raped; raping
: to commit rape on
rape
3 of 3 noun
: unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against the will usually of a female or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent compare sexual assault, statutory rape
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