rehearse
Americanverb (used with object)
-
rehearses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rehearsed,
past participle, past
-
rehearsing
present participle
-
to practice (a musical composition, a play, a speech, etc.) in private prior to a public presentation.
-
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)
-
rehearses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rehearsed,
past participle, past
-
rehearsing
present participle
verb
-
to practise (a play, concert, etc), in preparation for public performance
-
(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
-
have been rehearsingperfect progressive
-
has been rehearsingperfect progressive
Past
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rehearsedsimple
-
had rehearsedperfect
-
was rehearsingprogressive
-
were rehearsingprogressive
-
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
"I think she would love this moment," Zanai tells the band after they rehearse.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 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
It had occurred to me while I was watching the band rehearse.
From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio
Backstage, as an orchestra rehearses and cameras document his every move, South African superstar Black Coffee is preparing for one of the biggest performances of his career.
From BBC ● May 23, 2026
Now, this documentary is taking viewers behind the scenes with the playwright Jeremy O. Harris as he workshops and rehearses, before ultimately bringing the play to the big stage.
From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2024
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
Ralph answered in the cautious voice of one who rehearses a theorem.
From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
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
But while analysts argue that Love Island is far from a perfect mirror of society, it nonetheless operates as a cultural stage where shifting gender norms and emerging challenges are publicly rehearsed.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 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
She’d rehearsed it often enough, but now her voice sounded thin and nervous.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
There’s a semi-out culture in which Jordan and Eddy are rehearsing for a performance of John Herbert’s 1967 gay prison play, “Fortune and Men’s Eyes.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
Within seven days, she was back in the dance studio, rehearsing for forthcoming performances with a large bandage strapped across her stomach.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Inside Nardis Jazz Club, a dimly lit venue with an intimate feel in the shadow of Istanbul's Galata Tower, a jazz trio is rehearsing ahead of an evening show with a singer.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
She is currently rehearsing for her role as Clara in “The Nutcracker” in November, a part she has played for 45 years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
I drove through farmland and wooded areas of rural Georgia, rehearsing what I would say when I met this man.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
