rhyme

[ rahym ]

noun

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 ¹( def 4 ).

verb (used with object)

, rhymed, rhym·ing.

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)

, rhymed, rhym·ing.

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.

rhyme

/ 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. rhyme or reason
   rhyme or reason sense, logic, or meaning

   this proposal has no rhyme or reason

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

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

Derived Forms

• ˈrhymeless, adjective

Other Words From

• rhymer noun
• inter·rhyme verb (used without object) interrhymed interrhyming
• mis·rhymed adjective
• non·rhyme noun
• non·rhymed adjective
• non·rhyming adjective
• outrhyme verb (used with object) outrhymed outrhyming
• un·rhyme verb (used with object) unrhymed unrhyming
• well-rhymed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rhyme¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of rhyme¹

C12: from Old French rime , from rimer to rhyme, from Old High German rīm a number; spelling influenced by rhythm

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

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

   There was no rhyme or reason for what they did.

Example Sentences

He talked about sharing poems with kindergartners, and how much kids love it when you tell them to just have fun, make some rhymes, and be silly.

From Washington Post

So many of the 140 lyricists who entered, some of them with a dozen or more songs each, offered songs that cleverly echoed the originals, and matched or even improved on the originals’ rhyme scheme.

From Washington Post

This addresses matters of length, structure, source music, rhyme and meter — what works best for a contest whose results are mostly read in text.

From Washington Post

The older boy would sing a little rhyme about a dog and a hunter in the woods.

From Washington Post

“There was really no rhyme or reason to why somebody who was caught with crack cocaine was subject to imprisonment many, many times more severe than people who were found with soft cocaine,” says Virani.

From Popular-Science

One song interweaves adult themes into nursery rhyme cadence.

From The Daily Beast

So too, without the benefit of a rhyme, is "fix it, don't repeal it."

From The Daily Beast

Like, “Yeah this will be crazy to rhyme on alright lets loop it up.”

From The Daily Beast

Bruni told NPR last summer that she changed the name because it was easier to rhyme.

From The Daily Beast

While it may “rhyme” a bit, Syria has its own particular dynamics.

From The Daily Beast

I don't exactly see how I could have been, considering I never made a rhyme in my life!

From Project Gutenberg

The sixth line is in these words: “Keeping time, time, time, in a sort of Runic rhyme.”

From Project Gutenberg

It was about a trifle, some little thing that she had put into rhyme for him; how many rhymes she had written for him this summer!

From Project Gutenberg

The most amusing point in it is, that the author seriously intended the lines to rhyme.

From Project Gutenberg

We passed through Banbury, whose cross, famous in nursery rhyme, is only modern.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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