rasp

[ rasp, rahsp ]

verb (used with object)

1. to scrape or abrade with a rough instrument.
2. to scrape or rub roughly:

   The glacier rasped the valley floor.

3. to grate upon or irritate:

   The sound rasped his nerves.

4. to utter with a grating sound:

   to rasp out an answer.

verb (used without object)

1. to scrape or grate.
2. to make a grating sound.

noun

1. an act of rasping.
2. a rasping sound.
3. a coarse file, used mainly on wood, having separate conical teeth.
4. (in an insect) a roughened surface used in stridulation.

rasp

¹

/ rɑːsp /

noun

1. an informal or Scot word for raspberry

rasp

²

/ rɑːsp /

noun

1. a harsh grating noise
2. a coarse file with rows of raised teeth

verb

1. tr to scrape or rub (something) roughly, esp with a rasp; abrade
2. to utter with or make a harsh grating noise
3. to irritate (one's nerves or senses); grate (upon)

Derived Forms

• ˈrasper, noun
• ˈraspish, adjective

Other Words From

• raspish adjective
• un·rasped adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rasp¹

1200–50; Middle English raspen < Old French rasper to scrape, grate < Germanic; rape ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of rasp¹

C16: from Old French raspe , of Germanic origin; compare Old High German raspōn to scrape

Example Sentences

The new mix showcases the singer's strength as a vocalist - with a tell-tale rasp that catches on the song's message of friendship and solidarity.

From BBC

What endures is the rasping byplay, the soaring exasperation, the tango of opposing temperaments finding fleeting common ground.

From Los Angeles Times

“They don’t like that old man voice,” she said of Biden’s rasp and the way his words seemed to disappear.

From Los Angeles Times

“To give you an idea of the intensity, my first week that I actually had off, where it was just Margaret working, I got shingles,” Moore says, almost proudly, in her familiar deep rasp.

From Los Angeles Times

Throughout the album, Booth’s singing — her slight rasp and her behind-the-beat phrasing — draws you into the music’s rich emotion, as though she’s imparting a closely held secret.

From Los Angeles Times