What does rap mean?
Rap is chiefly a genre of music that uses rhythmic, often rhymed speech as its central material. Rather than being simply speech set to music, it treats patterns of cadence, rhyme, repetition, and accent as musical elements. A rap may also refer to an individual song or track, while a rapper is the person who performs the vocal form. The word has older, unrelated meanings: as a verb, it can mean to knock sharply, as in a knock at a door, and figuratively to criticize someone angrily or forcefully. These older senses remain in regular use, especially in British English, but the musical sense is overwhelmingly dominant today. Rap developed as part of the broader hip-hop culture of the United States and has since become a global form of popular music. Its vocabulary and performance traditions draw heavily on the relationship between language, rhythm, and identity.
A style of music featuring rhythmic or rhymed speech, especially in a style associated with hip-hop; also a short, sharp knock.
"Their new single combines rap with live percussion."
The musical sense is dominant today. The sense meaning a sharp knock remains common in British and American English.
To perform rap; to knock sharply; or to criticize someone forcefully and angrily.
"Critics rapped the policy as both impractical and unfair."
The critical sense is figurative and generally more forceful than the phrase “criticized.”
The plural is used for individual rap songs or tracks and, less commonly, for sharp knocks.
"The compilation includes several raps recorded during the group's early years."
Rap turns speech itself into rhythm, proving that everyday words can become an instrument.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does rap come from?
The English verb meaning “to knock sharply” existed before the modern musical sense and is recorded from the Middle English period. The musical use of rap developed in the late 20th century from the broader tradition of African American rhythmic and rhymed speech; its precise derivation has been debated. The word's earlier knock-related sense is not securely connected to the musical sense, and the origins of both remain less certain than their later historical development.
Related word forms
How rap is actually used
The musical sense is now dominant in contemporary English and is used internationally. In British English, the older sense of a sharp knock remains common in expressions such as “a rap on the door.” The sense meaning to criticize forcefully is more formal and figurative.
Easily confused with rap
A rap is a musical style, a sharp knock, or the act of criticizing forcefully, whereas a wrap is something folded around or around something else.
Rap commonly denotes a music genre or a sharp knock, while rapt means completely absorbed or fascinated.