rape

rape — verb

1. to force a person to have sex with you against their will, by using your physica

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to force a person to have sex with you against their will, by using your physical strength or by making them afraid that you will hurt them

Example

A former soldier was found guilty of raping a tourist in the park.

passive voice: be found guilty of raping

Detectives arrested a man suspected of raping three women over the course of a year.

active: suspect of raping [number] people over [time]

Common collocations
  • rape a woman/man/victim
  • raped at knifepoint
  • raped and murdered
  • accused of raping
  • convicted of raping
Synonyms
  • sexually assault

    broader legal term covering all unwanted sexual contact, not limited to intercourse

  • violate

    more formal and literary; can also mean to break a rule or agreement

Grammar Patterns

rape + person

be raped by + person

Usage Note

In legal and journalistic contexts, the broader term sexual assault (性侵害) is often preferred because it covers a wider range of unwanted sexual contact. Rape specifically refers to forced sexual intercourse. The verb is transitive and always takes a direct object — you rape a person, not 'with' a person.

Common Mistakes

He raped with the victim.
He raped the victim.
rape is always transitive and must take a direct object.
She was raped by force.
She was raped.
'by force' is redundant because force is already part of the meaning.

2. to steal or take everything valuable from a place or area, especially during a w

2.verbtransitiveC2
Definition

to steal or take everything valuable from a place or area, especially during a war, leaving it ruined

Example

The invading army raped the city of all its treasures and burned the temples.

pattern: rape + place + of + possessions

Historical accounts describe how the conquerors raped the countryside for supplies.

Common collocations
  • rape a city/country/village
  • raped of its treasures/wealth
Synonyms
  • plunder

    the neutral modern term for stealing goods by force, especially in war

  • pillage

    specifically about violent stealing during war, similar in formality

  • loot

    informal, often about stealing from shops or homes during chaos

Grammar Patterns

rape + place + of + possessions

Usage Note

This sense is now very rare in modern English except in historical writing. The use of rape to mean 'plunder' shares an origin with the sexual sense (from Latin rapere 'to seize'), but modern readers may find it confusing or offensive. In most contexts, plunder, loot, or pillage are preferred.

Common Mistakes

The company raped the market.
The company plundered the market.
the figurative use of the plunder sense is not idiomatic in modern English.

rape — noun

Word family

  • rapist
    nounB2
  • raped
    adjectiveB2
  • rapeseed
    nounB1
  • date rape
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While rape specifically refers to forced sexual intercourse, sexual assault is a broader legal term covering any unwanted sexual contact, including touching and groping. Sexual violence is the widest of the three, functioning as an umbrella term that includes rape, assault, harassment, and other forms of coercion. Abuse is more general still — it can refer to physical, emotional, or sexual mistreatment, often in an ongoing relationship. For example, a news report might say 'she was a victim of sexual assault' when the specific act is rape, while 'sexual violence' would be used in a policy discussion about prevention. The term 'abuse' is more likely in contexts of domestic or institutional harm.

sexual assaultsexual violenceabuse ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • rape victim
  • rape survivor
  • rape case
  • rape trial
  • rape charge
  • rape conviction
  • rape crisis

Adverbs

  • allegedly raped
  • brutally raped
  • repeatedly raped

Phrases

  • date rape
  • rape and murder
  • rape and assault
  • rape kit
  • rape shield law

Prepositions

  • rape of
  • rape by
  • charged with rape
  • convicted of rape

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Rape comes from the Latin verb rapere, meaning 'to seize or carry away by force'. In older English, the word first meant 'to take by force' in a general sense, which is how the plunder meaning arose. From the 15th century onward, it became increasingly associated with forced sexual intercourse. Meanwhile, the plant rape (as in rapeseed) has a completely separate origin — it comes from Latin rapum meaning 'turnip', through the same Indo-European root as 'turnip' itself. The two words are homonyms that happen to sound and look the same but are historically unrelated.