rehearsal
Americannoun
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a session of exercise, drill, or practice, usually private, in preparation for a public performance, ceremony, etc..
a play rehearsal; a wedding rehearsal.
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the act of rehearsing.
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a repeating or relating.
a rehearsal of grievances.
noun
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a session of practising a play, concert, speech etc, in preparation for public performance
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the act of going through or recounting; recital
rehearsal of his own virtues was his usual occupation
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being prepared for public performance
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of rehearsal
First recorded in 1350–1400, rehearsal is from the Middle English word rehersaille. See rehearse, -al 2
Explanation
A rehearsal is a practice, especially for a performance of some kind. You're likely to be nervous about your magic show if the rehearsal goes badly. When you practice for a play, read your speech in front of a mirror, or go through a dance performance before the big show, you're taking part in a rehearsal. Any kind of practice session can be called a rehearsal, like a wedding rehearsal or a musician's rehearsal. The Old French root of rehearsal is rehercier, "go over again." Originally, rehearsal just meant "to say something over again;" in the mid-1500s it began to also mean "practice a play."
Vocabulary lists containing rehearsal
Academy Awards, List 5
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Theater - Introductory
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Psychology
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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.
Were there any things that occurred during the rehearsal process that genuinely surprised you?
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
Garden & Gun’s next wedding issue will feature groom’s cakes, which often appear at rehearsal dinners in the south.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
One set is given by a jury of music industry professionals after watching the second dress rehearsal.
From Barron's • May 16, 2026
We meet him in the middle of rehearsal week at Vienna's Museum of Science and Technology, where the second floor is full of early mechanical instruments and historical synthesisers.
From BBC • May 14, 2026
Welles realized how much work he'd have to do at the next day’s rehearsal to whip the show into shape.
From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow
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.
