rhyme

American  

[rahym] / raɪm /

Sometimes rime

noun

• rhymes
  plural

1. identity in sound of some part, especially the end, of words or lines of verse.

2. a word agreeing with another in terminal sound: Find is a rhyme for mind and womankind.

3. verse or poetry having correspondence in the terminal sounds of the lines.

4. a poem or piece of verse having such correspondence.

5. verse.

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verb (used with object)

• rhymes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• rhymed,
  past participle,  past
• rhyming
  present participle

1. to treat in rhyme, as a subject; turn into rhyme, as something in prose.

2. to compose (verse or the like) in metrical form with rhymes.

3. to use (a word) as a rhyme to another word; use (words) as rhymes.

verb (used without object)

• rhymes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• rhymed,
  past participle,  past
• rhyming
  present participle

1. to make rhyme or verse; versify.

2. to use rhyme in writing verse.

3. to form a rhyme, as one word or line with another.

   a word that rhymes with orange.

4. to be composed in metrical form with rhymes, as verse.

   poetry that rhymes.

idioms

1. rhyme or reason, logic, sense, or plan.

   There was no rhyme or reason for what they did.

rhyme British  

/ raɪm /

noun

1. identity of the terminal sounds in lines of verse or in words

2. a word that is identical to another in its terminal sound

   ``while'' is a rhyme for ``mile''

3. a verse or piece of poetry having corresponding sounds at the ends of the lines

   the boy made up a rhyme about his teacher

4. any verse or piece of poetry

5. sense, logic, or meaning

   this proposal has no rhyme or reason

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verb

1. to use (a word) or (of a word) to be used so as to form a rhyme; be or make identical in sound

2. to render (a subject) into rhyme

3. to compose (verse) in a metrical structure

rhyme Cultural  

1. A similarity of sound between words, such as moon, spoon, croon, tune, and June. Rhyme is often employed in verse.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonrhyme
  noun
• rhymer
  noun
• outrhyme
  verb (used with object)
• unrhyme
  verb (used with object)
• interrhyme
  verb (used without object)
• misrhymed
  adjective
• nonrhymed
  adjective
• nonrhyming
  adjective
• rhymeless
  adjective
• well-rhymed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• rhymes
  plural

Participles

• rhyming
  present
• rhymed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• rhyme
  simple
• rhymes
  simple
• have rhymed
  perfect
• has rhymed
  perfect
• am rhyming
  progressive
• are rhyming
  progressive
• is rhyming
  progressive
• have been rhyming
  perfect progressive
• has been rhyming
  perfect progressive

Past

• rhymed
  simple
• had rhymed
  perfect
• was rhyming
  progressive
• were rhyming
  progressive
• had been rhyming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will rhyme
  simple
• will have rhymed
  perfect
• will be rhyming
  progressive
• will have been rhyming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of rhyme

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English rime, from Old French, derivative of rimer “to rhyme,” from unattested Gallo-Romance rimāre “to put in a row,” ultimately derived from Old High German rīm “series, row”; probably not connected with Latin rhythmus “rhythm,” although current spelling (from about 1600) is apparently by association with this word

Explanation

A rhyme is when the ending sounds of two words sound alike — like "mouse" and "house" or "complain" and "sustain." If you have a knack for rhyme, you might have a bright future as a poet. “True wit is nature to advantage dress'd; / What oft was thought, but ne'er so well express'd”: lines of rhyme written by English poet Alexander Pope. The way “dress’d” and “express’d” sound, that’s rhyme. Rhyme shares the same Latin root as rhythm, and poetry that rhymes does have a rhythm to it, like in a song. Rhyme is a noun for similar sounds or a poem that uses rhyme, and it’s also a verb, like saying, “What rhymes with orange?”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rhyme rhymes rhymed rhyming

But he says it's also difficult to account for the sales, which appear random with "no rhyme or reason."

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Month after month, spies secretly met in a secure compound to discuss rhyme schemes, structural forms and heroic odes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Its name is inspired by the nursery rhyme Old Mother Goose, reflecting the idea of an ancient goose emerging from the mud of a fossil deposit.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026

Their lead single “Fabienk” is studded with hair-trigger riffs — if you can even call them that — that mix the playful nursery rhyme melodies of Battles with the no-wave drone of Sonic Youth.

From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026

He would start singing one song, didn’t matter what, and then the next second would slide right into another song, with no rhyme or reason—just depended on what he felt like belting out that day.

From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender

The white peak of the Chimborazo rhymes with the white of a waterfall in the foreground, which serves as the focal point of the composition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

Though the state of California has never taken on a role quite like this before, the idea rhymes with other policies at both the state and federal level.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026

Attending LaGuardia High School of Music & Art, he became friends with future rapper Dana Dane and they started writing their own rhymes.

From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026

This kind of talk rhymes with how Tesla in 2016 described Musk’s plans for merging Tesla with SolarCity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026

They were dressed alike and appeared to be twins; their mother entertained them with a variety of rattles, plush toys, nursery rhymes, games of peek-a-boo, and amusing little songs about farm animals.

From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood

“The struggles of these ordinary farming folk in rural China really rhymed with what was suddenly happening to farming folk in the U.S.A.,” says Peter Conn, emeritus professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 21, 2026

There are, in fact, some rather disturbing rhymed couplets, if you will.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2024

Jester, troubadour, agent provocateur, Serge Gainsbourg rhymed his way through life in a fog of Gitanes smoke, making music of every genre.

From New York Times ● Sep. 25, 2023

Some of his funniest quotes rhymed, including "Yum, yum, pig's bum, that was fun!" and "Winner, winner, chicken dinner!"

From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2023

Will and George were doing well in business, and Joe was writing letters home in rhymed verse and making as smart an attack on all the accepted verities as was healthful.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

The series’ musical landscape also includes a myriad of folk songs, such as the drunken tavern tune “Alice With Three Fingers” and the childish rhyming couplets of “The Hammer and the Anvil.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

MS Now‘s Jacob Soboroff played Mamdani the rhyming boast that begin’s “My mayor’s Muslim, my bagel’s Jewish.”

From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2026

A relatively anonymous take on Dua Lipa's dance-pop, it loses points for rhyming "fire" with "desire" - but I can't get it out of my head.

From BBC ● May 8, 2026

Until we see persistent, continual job losses over a long period of time across the entire economy, the safe bet is that history is simply rhyming.

From Barron's ● Mar. 27, 2026

"You were right about Sidana. That rhyming does get irritating real quick."

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

Related Words

• cadence
• poem
• poetry
• rhythm
• tune
• verse