rebus
Americannoun
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a representation of a word or phrase by pictures, symbols, etc., that suggest that word or phrase or its syllables.
Two gates and a head is a rebus for Gateshead.
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a piece of writing containing many such representations.
noun
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a puzzle consisting of pictures representing syllables and words; in such a puzzle the word hear might be represented by H followed by a picture of an ear
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a heraldic emblem or device that is a pictorial representation of or pun on the name of the bearer
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of rebus
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin rēbus “by things” (ablative plural of rēs ), in phrase nōn verbīs sed rēbus “not by words but by things”
Explanation
A rebus is a puzzle that uses symbols or pictures to represent the sounds of words. A picture of an eye, a heart, and a ewe might be used to say "I love you." Isn't that sweet? A rebus uses pictures and symbols to convey a message in what may be considered a fun code. The letters ICU might be used to stand for the sentence “I see you.” The word rebus could be depicted with the letters RE followed by a picture of a school bus. Some children's books use rebuses as a way of introducing kids to the reading process, but rebuses can also be quite challenging, even for the adult mind.
Vocabulary lists containing rebus
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Challenge, List 4
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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:
The effect of these lines, which reach back into the past while projecting far into the future, is that of a rebus, with the stunning phrase “the final whereabouts” offering one more breath of indirection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2022
Slogans, drawings, GIFs, inspirational sentiments, little rebus puzzles—it’s really up to you.
From Slate ● Feb. 5, 2018
A rebus, a romance, a gothic thriller and a woozy comedy, “The Handmaiden” is finally and most significantly a liberation story.
From New York Times ● Oct. 20, 2016
Today the rebus is a convention of the crossword.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 31, 2015
Logograms for abstract words were often derived by the rebus principle.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
I grew up doing crosswords, riddles and rebuses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2025
Photograph: Universal Images Group/Getty Images In essence, Griffiths had to crack an elaborate Tudor code of rebuses, ciphers, heraldic motifs and symbolic flowers to discover who the man was.
From The Guardian ● May 19, 2015
More complex rebuses are pictures whose elements, correctly named and put together, make up words or sentences.
From Time Magazine Archive
Perhaps I should compose some rebuses for the King.
From Voices from the Past by Bartlett, Paul Alexander
Good Francesco has searched through my manuscripts for rebuses and notations, and he and Papini have put together a song that begins: Amore sol la mi fa remirare, la sol mi fa sollecita.
From Voices from the Past by Bartlett, Paul Alexander
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.
