rap

rap

I

rap¹ /ræp/ noun1.  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

rap² 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. | 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. | 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. | A crowd of people were outside hammering on the door angrily.