Reap is a verb meaning to harvest or gather a crop, typically after a growing season, or to receive a consequence or reward as a result of actions. It conveys a sense of obtaining what is produced or deserved, often following labor, decision, or risk. The term can also appear in metaphorical contexts beyond agriculture.
"Farmers reap the barley at autumn’s end."
"If you plant wisely, you’ll reap the benefits later."
"Reap what you sow is a common proverb about consequences."
"The investors reaped substantial profits from the deal."
Reap traces to Old English raepian, related to the German rappen and Dutch rapen, from a common Germanic root meaning to harvest or gather. The word shares ties with actions of reaping a crop and of acquiring outcomes from labor. Early usage appears in medieval English agricultural contexts, where the verb described the act of cutting and bundling grain. Over centuries, reap broadened beyond literal farming to mean securing results or rewards from one’s efforts, pain, or risk. By the early modern period, reap had become a standard metaphor for the consequences one encounters as a result of actions, mirrored in proverbs like videos of sowing and reaping. Today, reap remains a versatile verb with both concrete agricultural sense and extended figurative meanings in literature, journalism, and everyday speech. First known written usage is documented in Old English texts, with continued presence in Middle English and Shakespearean-era English, demonstrating its enduring role in expressing cause-and-effect in human endeavor.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Reap" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Reap"
-eep sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Pronounced /riːp/ in all major varieties. The vowel is a long /i:/ as in 'reed', followed by a straight /p/ stop. Stress falls on the word as a whole in simple sentences. For clarity: say 'reeep' with a tight tongue position for a longer vowel, then release into a crisp /p/. Audio cues: you'll hear long vowel duration in careful speech and slightly shorter in casual speech. IPA: US /rip/ actually matches /riːp/; UK and AU maintain /riːp/.
Two common errors: (1) shortening the vowel to a lax /ɪ/ as in 'rip' rather than a long /iː/. (2) not fully releasing the /p/ or adding an extra consonant in final position (like /rip/ or /riːpv/). Correction: shape the mouth for a long /iː/ with a high front tongue blade, keep lips unrounded, then drop to a clean /p/ without post-aspiration. Practice by saying ‘reed’ and adding a crisp /p/ at the end, ensuring the word ends suddenly.
US, UK, and AU all favor a long /iː/ vowel, but vowel quality varies slightly: US tends toward a tenser, fronter /iː/, UK rounds the lips modestly and keeps a slightly shorter vowel, while AU often mirrors US length but with a more clipped final /p/. Rhoticity doesn’t affect this word since there’s no r-colored vowel. Overall, the core is /riːp/ with minimal diphthongization in most dialects.
Difficulty centers on producing a held long /iː/ followed by a clean voiceless bilabial /p/. For some speakers, the transition from certain vowel sounds to /p/ causes a slight glottalization or an extra vowel. The key is keeping the jam-free, crisp /p/ closure without voicing, and not reducing the vowel to a short /i/. Practice with minimal pairs to lock the timing of the vowel and final stop.
A unique detail is the length and tension of the /iː/ vowel preceding the voiceless /p/. You should avoid turning it into a quick /riːp/ without proper vowel duration or into a mispronounced /rip/. Ensure the blade of the tongue stays high, the mouth remains slightly spread, and the lips remain neutral before the /p/ stop. The strength of the final /p/ should be crisp without aspiration that bleeds into the next syllable in connected speech.
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