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.
-
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
-
(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
-
unrehearsableadjective
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unrehearsedadjective
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unrehearsingadjective
-
well-rehearsedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rehearsesimple
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rehearsessimple
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have rehearsedperfect
-
has rehearsedperfect
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am rehearsingprogressive
-
are rehearsingprogressive
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is rehearsingprogressive
-
have been rehearsingperfect progressive
-
has been rehearsingperfect progressive
Past
-
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:
Amy Doughty, the company's co-artistic director and James' wife, joined Ballet Cymru as a dancer in 1996, and said they would rehearse wherever they could find space.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
All we did was rehearse every now and then.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 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
When your mind wanders, whether to rehearse a future argument or ruminate over what you said Friday night, you’re meant to note it, lightly and without judgment: “thinking” or “planning.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
The darkness devoured it in a way that reminded me of the auditorium where I’d watched Jesse rehearse The Snow Queen freshman year.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
In another part of the city, mother-of-two Natalia Bushkovska each night rehearses three different plans.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
In the next scene, Howze is splayed out on a mattress beneath a suspended fun house mirror, skis dangling from the ceiling as he rehearses his final thoughts.
From New York Times ● Feb. 12, 2024
Alone on his couch, he rehearses the litany of troubles that have led him there.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2023
Channeling that energy, he rehearses his fact-heavy, feelings-scant eulogy.
From Salon ● May 22, 2023
He rehearses in his head the argument he will present to his sister.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Some have been rehearsed for debates, floor speeches and carefully worded social-media posts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Gone are the rehearsed lines that financial markets are used to hearing from the central bank.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
“The first time I rehearsed with handlesticks, I got maybe a quarter through the number and I said, ‘This is impossible.’”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
"Testing an AI agent is less like checking code and more like handling a hazardous material: sealed rooms, constant monitoring of what leaves the building, a rehearsed containment plan," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
I stood blinking stupidly at her, the blood pounding in my veins, and my carefully rehearsed plans for a goodbye kiss forgotten, when unexpectedly she flew up and threw her arms around me.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
We changed the band’s name in 1964 to the Spiders and played primal rock, rehearsing five hours a day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 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
Avery, 15, and 14-year-old Manas and their band The Ladies-Men have been rehearsing at the Oh Yeah centre as part of North South Sounds 2026.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
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
We were rehearsing for the showcase when our ballet teacher had us join hands to form a circle.
From "Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina" by Michaela DePrince
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