rebus
Americannoun
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rebuses
plural
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a representation of a word or phrase by pictures, symbols, etc., that suggest that word or phrase or its syllables.
Two gates and a head is a rebus for Gateshead.
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a piece of writing containing many such representations.
noun
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a puzzle consisting of pictures representing syllables and words; in such a puzzle the word hear might be represented by H followed by a picture of an ear
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a heraldic emblem or device that is a pictorial representation of or pun on the name of the bearer
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of rebus
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin rēbus “by things” (ablative plural of rēs ), in phrase nōn verbīs sed rēbus “not by words but by things”
Explanation
A rebus is a puzzle that uses symbols or pictures to represent the sounds of words. A picture of an eye, a heart, and a ewe might be used to say "I love you." Isn't that sweet? A rebus uses pictures and symbols to convey a message in what may be considered a fun code. The letters ICU might be used to stand for the sentence “I see you.” The word rebus could be depicted with the letters RE followed by a picture of a school bus. Some children's books use rebuses as a way of introducing kids to the reading process, but rebuses can also be quite challenging, even for the adult mind.
Vocabulary lists containing rebus
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Challenge, List 4
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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:
The effect of these lines, which reach back into the past while projecting far into the future, is that of a rebus, with the stunning phrase “the final whereabouts” offering one more breath of indirection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2022
It reminds me of a surrealist painting, or a rebus puzzle.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2021
A modern-day equivalent would be using a picture of an eye to represent “I” — a linguistic concept called the rebus principle.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 30, 2019
A rebus, a romance, a gothic thriller and a woozy comedy, “The Handmaiden” is finally and most significantly a liberation story.
From New York Times ● Oct. 20, 2016
Logograms for abstract words were often derived by the rebus principle.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
I grew up doing crosswords, riddles and rebuses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2025
Photograph: Universal Images Group/Getty Images In essence, Griffiths had to crack an elaborate Tudor code of rebuses, ciphers, heraldic motifs and symbolic flowers to discover who the man was.
From The Guardian ● May 19, 2015
More complex rebuses are pictures whose elements, correctly named and put together, make up words or sentences.
From Time Magazine Archive
But she could not guide a husband who needed a bridle rein, neither could she decipher rebuses.
From The Maid of Honour, Vol. 1 (of 3) A Tale of the Dark Days of France by Lewis Wingfield
Perhaps I should compose some rebuses for the King.
From Voices from the Past by Paul Alexander Bartlett
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
