rhyme

[ rahym ]

/ raɪm /

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See synonyms for: rhyme / rhymed / rhymes / rhyming on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

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

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

a poem or piece of verse having such correspondence.

verse¹ (def. 4).

verb (used with object), rhymed, rhym·ing.

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

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

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

verb (used without object), rhymed, rhym·ing.

to make rhyme or verse; versify.

to use rhyme in writing verse.

to form a rhyme, as one word or line with another: a word that rhymes with orange.

to be composed in metrical form with rhymes, as verse: poetry that rhymes.

QUIZ

ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about rhyme

rhyme or reason, logic, sense, or plan: There was no rhyme or reason for what they did.

Sometimes rime .

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

historical usage of rhyme

The spelling and etymology of the noun rhyme fall between two stools. Its Middle English forms rym (in The Canterbury Tales, from around 1387), ryym (in Wycliffe’s Bible ), and rime derive from Anglo-French, Old French, and Middle French rime, ryme. Note the absence of h in all these spellings.
The source of the French rime is from an unrecorded Gallo-Romance verb rimāre “to set in a row,” a derivative of the Germanic noun rīm “number, series,” and possibly developing the senses “series of rhymed syllables” and “rhymed verse.”
The English spelling rhyme dates from around 1600 and shows the influence of the unrelated Latin rhetorical term rhythmus “a patterned sequence of sounds; measured flow of words or phrases in prose,” a borrowing from Greek rhythmós, which has the same meanings.

OTHER WORDS FROM rhyme

rhymer, nounin·ter·rhyme, verb (used without object), in·ter·rhymed, in·ter·rhym·ing.mis·rhymed, adjectivenon·rhyme, noun

non·rhymed, adjectivenon·rhym·ing, adjectiveoutrhyme, verb (used with object), out·rhymed, out·rhym·ing.un·rhyme, verb (used with object), un·rhymed, un·rhym·ing.well-rhymed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH rhyme

rhyme , rhythm

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rhyme in a sentence

DI taught even 4-year-olds to understand sounds, syllables, and rhyming.
Equality Matters More Than Integration in Schools|John McWhorter|May 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Also he's the dude who can be heard rhyming on Frank Ocean's hot track "Super Rich Kids."
10 Great Bands You’ve Never Heard|Winston Ross|May 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
To my surprise, rhyming "Santorum" with "Purim" proved very popular with readers.
The Song of Newt Gingrich: From Longshot To Hotshot To No Shot||April 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The punk movement started here, as did the infamous Cockney Rhyming Slang.
Gal With a Suitcase|Jolie Hunt|November 21, 2009|DAILY BEAST

If you have to sing you may just slip back into rhyming from my mouth or my throat or rhyming where we naturally speak.
The Thinking Man’s Rapper|Touré|March 6, 2009|DAILY BEAST
You might do a good deal with a rhyming dictionary, you know; particularly if you let your hair grow.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume III (of 3)|Charles James Wills
But there must have been something besides this: it is plain that the pattern of rhyming romance was growing stale.
Sir Walter Scott|William Paton Ker
The Lay, a rhyming romance; Waverley an historical novel; what, it may be asked, is so very remarkable about their origins?
Sir Walter Scott|William Paton Ker
And this wonderful little rhyming dictionary, as Miss Tilly calls her—does she come back with you?
The Sunbridge Girls at Six Star Ranch|Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter
“Some day soon this rhyming volume, if you learn with proper speed,” xiv.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 25 (of 25)|Robert Louis Stevenson

British Dictionary definitions for rhyme

rhyme

archaic rime

/ (raɪm) /

noun

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

a word that is identical to another in its terminal sound``while'' is a rhyme for ``mile''

a verse or piece of poetry having corresponding sounds at the ends of the linesthe boy made up a rhyme about his teacher

any verse or piece of poetry

rhyme or reason sense, logic, or meaningthis proposal has no rhyme or reason

verb

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

to render (a subject) into rhyme

to compose (verse) in a metrical structure

Derived forms of rhyme

rhymeless or rimeless, adjective

Word Origin for rhyme

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for rhyme

rhyme

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

rhyme

Idioms about rhyme

Origin of rhyme

historical usage of rhyme

OTHER WORDS FROM rhyme

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH rhyme

Words related to rhyme

How to use rhyme in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rhyme

archaic rime

Derived forms of rhyme

Word Origin for rhyme

Cultural definitions for rhyme