rehearse
Americanverb (used with object)
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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.
-
to relate the facts or particulars of; recount.
- Synonyms:
- recapitulate, narrate, portray, describe, delineate
verb (used without object)
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
Related Words
See relate.
Other Word Forms
- rehearsable adjective
- rehearser noun
- unrehearsable adjective
- unrehearsed adjective
- unrehearsing adjective
- well-rehearsed adjective
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”); 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.
I won’t rehearse the arguments made here three months ago and alluded to again last week.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
Hosting asks you to orchestrate, rehearse and curate.
From Salon • Dec. 2, 2025
"There wasn't any heating, the presenters had maybe two weeks to rehearse," he explained.
From BBC • Nov. 28, 2025
The members of Grizzly Bear gathered earlier this year for eight days in a windowless soundstage deep in the Valley to rehearse.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 11, 2025
To rehearse and refine the procedure, Dr. Atkinson and Dr. Emmett took human skulls home at night and practiced cutting them up.
From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge
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.
