MEANING
To make a harsh, scraping sound, especially with the voice or breath.
Use it for
Rough breathing; abrasive voices; a scraping sound near vulnerable tissueGive sound a frictional quality rather than describing volume alone.
Words that belong together
- rasping breath
- rasp a reply
- rasp against bone
On the page
The creature rasped behind the wall.
His breath rasped with each attempted word.
Metal rasped against bone in the recorded examination.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- rasp / rasps
- Third-person present
- rasps
- Past tense
- rasped
- Past participle
- rasped
- Present participle
- rasping
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- rasp / rasps / rasps
- Present continuous
- am/is/are rasping
- Present perfect
- have/has rasped
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been rasping
- Past
- rasped
- Past continuous
- was/were rasping
- Past perfect
- had rasped
- Past perfect continuous
- had been rasping
- Future
- will rasp / rasps
- Future continuous
- will be rasping
- Future perfect
- will have rasped
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been rasping
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: horror. Also means scraping with a rough tool. A vocal rasp is rough rather than simply loud, high-pitched, or frightened. Verb [base, third-person present, past, past participle, -ing]: rasp, rasps, rasped, rasped, rasping. Derived/related family (not inflections): raspy (adjective).
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