rhyme

American  

[rahym] / raɪm /

Sometimes rime

noun

1. identity in sound of some part, especially the end, of words or lines of verse.

2. a word agreeing with another in terminal sound: Find is a rhyme for mind and womankind.

3. verse or poetry having correspondence in the terminal sounds of the lines.

4. a poem or piece of verse having such correspondence.

5. verse.

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verb (used with object)

rhymes, present (3rd person singular) rhymed, past participle, past rhyming present participle

1. to treat in rhyme, as a subject; turn into rhyme, as something in prose.

2. to compose (verse or the like) in metrical form with rhymes.

3. to use (a word) as a rhyme to another word; use (words) as rhymes.

verb (used without object)

rhymes, present (3rd person singular) rhymed, past participle, past rhyming present participle

1. to make rhyme or verse; versify.

2. to use rhyme in writing verse.

3. to form a rhyme, as one word or line with another.

   a word that rhymes with orange.

4. to be composed in metrical form with rhymes, as verse.

   poetry that rhymes.

idioms

1. rhyme or reason, logic, sense, or plan.

   There was no rhyme or reason for what they did.

rhyme British  

/ raɪm /

noun

1. identity of the terminal sounds in lines of verse or in words

2. a word that is identical to another in its terminal sound

   ``while'' is a rhyme for ``mile''

3. a verse or piece of poetry having corresponding sounds at the ends of the lines

   the boy made up a rhyme about his teacher

4. any verse or piece of poetry

5. sense, logic, or meaning

   this proposal has no rhyme or reason

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verb

1. to use (a word) or (of a word) to be used so as to form a rhyme; be or make identical in sound

2. to render (a subject) into rhyme

3. to compose (verse) in a metrical structure

rhyme Cultural  

1. A similarity of sound between words, such as moon, spoon, croon, tune, and June. Rhyme is often employed in verse.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rhymeless
  adjective
• outrhyme
  verb (used with object)
• nonrhyme
  noun
• interrhyme
  verb (used without object)
• misrhymed
  adjective
• unrhyme
  verb (used with object)
• well-rhymed
  adjective
• rhymer
  noun
• nonrhymed
  adjective
• nonrhyming
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has rhymed
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have rhymed
  perfect
• is rhyming
  progressive 3rd person singular
• rhyming
  participle
• has been rhyming
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• am rhyming
  progressive 1st person singular
• have been rhyming
  perfect progressive
• are rhyming
  progressive
• rhymes
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had rhymed
  perfect
• had been rhyming
  perfect progressive
• was rhyming
  progressive singular
• rhymed
  simple
• were rhyming
  progressive plural
• rhymed
  participle

Future

• will rhyme
  simple
• will have rhymed
  perfect
• will have been rhyming
  perfect progressive
• will be rhyming
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of rhyme

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English rime, from Old French, derivative of rimer “to rhyme,” from unattested Gallo-Romance rimāre “to put in a row,” ultimately derived from Old High German rīm “series, row”; probably not connected with Latin rhythmus “rhythm,” although current spelling (from about 1600) is apparently by association with this word

Explanation

A rhyme is when the ending sounds of two words sound alike — like "mouse" and "house" or "complain" and "sustain." If you have a knack for rhyme, you might have a bright future as a poet. “True wit is nature to advantage dress'd; / What oft was thought, but ne'er so well express'd”: lines of rhyme written by English poet Alexander Pope. The way “dress’d” and “express’d” sound, that’s rhyme. Rhyme shares the same Latin root as rhythm, and poetry that rhymes does have a rhythm to it, like in a song. Rhyme is a noun for similar sounds or a poem that uses rhyme, and it’s also a verb, like saying, “What rhymes with orange?”

Example Sentences

Their lead single “Fabienk” is studded with hair-trigger riffs — if you can even call them that — that mix the playful nursery rhyme melodies of Battles with the no-wave drone of Sonic Youth.

From Salon • Jun. 5, 2026

But the leverage dynamics rhyme strongly, and Shin’s entire intellectual project has been to arrest leverage booms before they tip over.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026

In the shadow of the towers, a space now plays host to the library's rhythm and rhyme classes for children.

From BBC • May 28, 2026

I really don’t have a rhyme or reason to why.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

Valmiki raised an eyebrow, as if to say You’re stretching the definition of rhyme, but then, you are on an urgent deadline….

From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi

Related Words

• cadence
• poem
• poetry
• rhythm
• tune
• verse