rehearse
Americanverb (used with object)
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to practice (a musical composition, a play, a speech, etc.) in private prior to a public presentation.
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to drill or train (an actor, musician, etc.) by rehearsal, as for some performance or part.
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to relate the facts or particulars of; recount.
- Synonyms:
- recapitulate, narrate, portray, describe, delineate
verb (used without object)
verb
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to practise (a play, concert, etc), in preparation for public performance
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(tr) to run through; recount; recite
the official rehearsed the grievances of the committee
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(tr) to train or drill (a person or animal) for the public performance of a part in a play, show, etc
Synonym Usage
See relate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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rehearsernoun
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rehearsableadjective
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unrehearsableadjective
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unrehearsedadjective
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unrehearsingadjective
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well-rehearsedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rehearsesimple
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rehearsessimple
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have rehearsedperfect
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has rehearsedperfect
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am rehearsingprogressive
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are rehearsingprogressive
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is rehearsingprogressive
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have been rehearsingperfect progressive
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has been rehearsingperfect progressive
Past
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rehearsedsimple
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had rehearsedperfect
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was rehearsingprogressive
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were rehearsingprogressive
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had been rehearsingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rehearse
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English rehersen, rehercen, from Middle French rehercier “to repeat,” equivalent to re- “again, over and over” + hercier “to strike, harrow” (derivative of herce, herse “a harrow”); see re-, hearse
Explanation
When you rehearse, you practice something. You and your cast mates will need to rehearse for several weeks before you'll be ready to perform the entire two hours and forty-five minutes of the musical "Hamilton." A new teacher might rehearse before his first day teaching math to ninth graders, and you'll want to rehearse before you sing the national anthem on the field before a baseball game begins. If you're nervous about something, like asking someone to the prom, you might rehearse it in your mind. At the root of rehearse is the Old French word rehercier, which means both "go over again," and "rake and turn over the soil."
Vocabulary lists containing rehearse
Speaking and Listening - Introductory
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Speaking and Listening - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Many job seekers are employing artificial intelligence to rehearse asking for a higher salary by using large language models like Claude or ChatGPT to practice a mock negotiation.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
At one of Snabbit's training hubs in the southern tech hub of Bengaluru, workers rehearse tasks such as chopping vegetables against the clock.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
The task required the writers to rehearse for months to map out contingencies and shape character arcs.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026
Each act had 10 to 20 minutes to rehearse with the backing band and technical staff.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
“Okay, I suppose I did hear the couple rehearse a little right before the dinner ” I shook my head, hardly believing it.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
She's looking on proudly as her son rehearses.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2025
Take an American ballerina, clad in shimmering white, caught in a blur of revolving motion as she rehearses in China.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 4, 2023
Channeling that energy, he rehearses his fact-heavy, feelings-scant eulogy.
From Salon ● May 22, 2023
So he often rehearses several times before delivering a major address.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2023
He rehearses in his head the argument he will present to his sister.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
The scrupulously staged and rehearsed repertory at the Joyce, with Elisa Clark assisting as rehearsal director, holds bright promise for future retrospective efforts mining the Mark Morris Dance Group’s rich repertory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
He had an elaborate pitch, which he painstakingly rehearsed and refined.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
The hosts of “The View” did not allow him to coast on his carefully rehearsed charm.
From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2026
It was clearly a rehearsed training ground ploy, although Slegers gave little away.
From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2026
As they neared the docks, Haldon Lac rehearsed what he would say when they brought in Hatchet and his men.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
One performer described the worst possible outcome: working all week, staying up all night, writing sketches, rehearsing constantly, and then discovering on Saturday night that you don’t even need hair and makeup.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
Twenty minutes later, they are on stage rehearsing The Happy Dictator; followed by Shaun Ryder, hamming up his part on the 2005 classic Dare!
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
The iconic singer resided in the property while he was rehearsing for his “This Is It” tour, which he was due to embark upon in July 2009.
From MarketWatch ● May 5, 2026
After rehearsing again and again, UConn’s players come to understand that Hurley’s sheet amounted to college basketball’s ultimate cheat code.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
Besides the other kids, I knew we’d have a living, published poet in the audience, so I’d spent a week memorizing and rehearsing my poem in front of a mirror, if you can believe that.
From "Bronx Masquerade" by Nikki Grimes
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
