rape Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun Eurasian plant cultivated for its seed and as a forage crop
    colza; Brassica napus.
  2. noun the act of despoiling a country in warfare
    rapine.
  3. noun the crime of forcing a woman to submit to sexual intercourse against her will
    violation; assault; ravishment.
  4. verb force (someone) to have sex against their will
    violate; ravish; dishonor; assault; dishonour; outrage.
    • The woman was raped on her way home at night
  5. verb destroy and strip of its possession
    plunder; violate; spoil; despoil.
    • The soldiers raped the beautiful country

WordNet

Rape noun
Etymology
F. râpe a grape stalk.
Definitions
  1. Fruit, as grapes, plucked from the cluster. Ray.
  2. The refuse stems and skins of grapes or raisins from which the must has been expressed in wine making.
  3. A filter containing the above refuse, used in clarifying and perfecting malt, vinegar, etc.
Rape noun
Etymology
Akin to rap to snatch, but confused with L. rapere. See Rap to snatch.
Definitions
  1. The act of seizing and carrying away by force; violent seizure; robbery. [Rare]
    And ruined orphans of thy rapes complain. Sandys.
  2. (Law) Sexual connection with a woman without her consent. See Age of consent, under Consent, n. (b) Any sexual intercourse forced on a person, whether male or female (also called forcible rape, or sexual assault, and sometimes, as a euphemism, criminal assault); Any sexual intercourse performed with a person who is under the age of consent, whether male or female, is statutory rape.
  3. That which is snatched away. Obs.
    Where now are all my hopes? O, never more. Shall they revive! nor death her rapes restore. Sandys.
  4. Movement, as in snatching; haste; hurry. Obs. 5. (Fig., Colloq.) An action causing results harmful to a person or thing; as, the rape of the land by mining companies.
Rape transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To commit rape upon; to ravish. 2. (Fig., Colloq.) To perform an action causing results harmful or very unpleasant to a person or thing; as, women raped first by their assailant, and then by the Justice system. Corresponds to 2nd rape, n. 5.
Rape intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To rob; to pillage. Obs. Heywood.
Rape noun
Etymology
Icel. hreppr village, district; cf. Icel. hreppa to catch, obtain, AS. hrepian, hreppan, to touch.
Definitions
  1. One of six divisions of the county of Sussex, England, intermediate between a hundred and a shire.
Rape noun
Etymology
L. rapa, rapum, akin to Gr. , , G. rübe.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A name given to a variety or to varieties of a plant of the turnip kind, grown for seeds and herbage. The seeds are used for the production of rape oil, and to a limited extent for the food of cage birds. ✍ These plants, with the edible turnip, have been variously named, but are all now believed to be derived from the Brassica campestris of Europe, which by some is not considered distinct from the wild stock (B. oleracea) of the cabbage. See Cole.

Webster 1913