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.
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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)
-
rehearses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rehearsed,
past participle, past
-
rehearsing
present participle
verb
-
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
-
have been rehearsingperfect progressive
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has been rehearsingperfect progressive
Past
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rehearsedsimple
-
had rehearsedperfect
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was rehearsingprogressive
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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
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
"I think she would love this moment," Zanai tells the band after they rehearse.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
Instead of rushing, I stay and help Miss Carol do some Xeroxing, then watch the cheerleaders rehearse outside.
From "The Skin I'm In" by Sharon G. Flake
The Inglewood High School marching band rehearses for an upcoming performance under the direction of teacher Joseph Jauregui.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2024
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
Channeling that energy, he rehearses his fact-heavy, feelings-scant eulogy.
From Salon ● May 22, 2023
The school has 320 members, and rehearses in the the lower middle-class neighborhood of Madureira in Rio’s north zone, along with some of the city’s most prestigious samba schools, including Portela and Império Serrano.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 15, 2023
He rehearses in his head the argument he will present to his sister.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
"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
Then, against advice, he presented a meticulously crafted and rehearsed speech at his sentencing hearing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
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
The hosts of “The View” did not allow him to coast on his carefully rehearsed charm.
From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2026
We had rehearsed our questions on the ride over.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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
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
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
They are rehearsing not so much Chakraborty’s end but Chowdhury’s reaction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
But then I made the mistake of telling Taylor about Nick’s drum kit—the one he can’t even play—which made Taylor realize that rehearsing in Nick’s basement was her life’s great purpose.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
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.
