Dictionary

rehearse en · VERB

Pronunciation

• [ɹɪˈhɜːs] (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ɹɪˈhɝs/ (General-American)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Middle English rehersen, from Anglo-Norman reherser (“to repeat word-for-word”).

Meanings

1. (transitive) To repeat, as what has been already said; to tell over again; to recite.
   • There’s no need to rehearse the same old argument; we’ve heard it before, and we all agree.
2. (transitive) To narrate; to relate; to tell; to recount.
   • The witness rehearsed the events of the night before for the listening detectives.
3. (ambitransitive) To practise by recitation or repetition in private for experiment and improvement, prior to a public representation, especially in theater.
   • In sober mornings, do not thou reherse / The holy incantation of a verse ... 1648, Robert Herrick, “When he would have his verses read”, in Hesperides:
   • The lawyer advised her client to rehearse her testimony before the trial date.
   • I ſuppoſe vve ſhall hardly Rehearſe the Comedy this Morning; for the Author vvas Arreſted as he vvas going home from King's Coffee-houſe; and, as I heard, it vvas for upvvards of Four Pound: I ſuppoſe he vvill hardly get Bail. 1736 March 16 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), Henry Fielding, Pasquin. A Dramatick Satire on the Times: […], London: […] J. Watts […], published 1736, →OCLC, Act I, page 1:
   • The main actors spent on average two hours a day rehearsing before the first night.
4. (transitive) To cause to rehearse; to instruct by rehearsal.
   • It was plain that he'd been rehearsed a lot, but he wasn't letter-perfect by any manner of means. 1916 March 11, Charles E. Van Loan, “His Folks”, in Saturday Evening Post:
   • The director rehearsed the cast incessantly in the days leading up to opening night, and as a result they were tired and cranky when it arrived.
   • He […] has been rehearsed by Madame Defarge as to his having seen Her […] 1859, Charles Dickens, “Darkness”, in A Tale of Two Cities, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, book III (The Track of a Storm), page 231:
5. To contrive and carefully prepare (a story, etc.) to offer consistency.
   • The Crown argued that the accused had rehearsed her story.

Forms

Deriveds

rehearser · misrehearse · rehearsal · rehearsed · rehearsable

Translations (59)

ru репети́ровать (to cause rehearse or instruct by rehearsal) · es emprimar (disused) (practice by repetition or recitation) · hu elpróbál (practice by repetition or recitation) · dsb probowaś (practice by repetition or recitation) · es practicar (practice by repetition or recitation) · he חזרה (repeat what has already been said) · bg разказвам (narrate or tell) · pt ensaiar (practice by repetition or recitation) · pt repetir (repeat what has already been said) · de proben (practice by repetition or recitation) · mi whakaharatau (practice by repetition or recitation) · fr ressasser (repeat what has already been said) · fr rabâcher (repeat what has already been said) · ml പരിശീലിക്കുക (practice by repetition or recitation) · es contar (narrate or tell) · it ripetere (practice by repetition or recitation) · fi harjoitella (practice by repetition or recitation) · hu ismétel (repeat what has already been said) · es ensayar (practice by repetition or recitation) · uk репети́рувати (practice by repetition or recitation) · nl herhalen (repeat what has already been said) · cmn 排練 /排练 (practice by repetition or recitation) · ru репети́ровать (practice by repetition or recitation) · hu elmesél (narrate or tell) · bg повтарям (repeat what has already been said) · it ripetere (narrate or tell) · pl powtarzać (repeat what has already been said) · nl vertellen (narrate or tell) · es repetir (repeat what has already been said) · it provare (practice by repetition or recitation) · de üben (practice by repetition or recitation) · el ξαναλέω (repeat what has already been said) · cmn 重复 (repeat what has already been said) · hu felmond (practice by repetition or recitation) · nl inoefenen (practice by repetition or recitation) · hu ismétel (practice by repetition or recitation) · nl doen repeteren (to cause rehearse or instruct by rehearsal) · ru твердить (repeat what has already been said) · fi kerrata (repeat what has already been said) · bg репетирам (practice by repetition or recitation) · de wiederholen (repeat what has already been said) · sv repetera (practice by repetition or recitation) · fi toistaa (repeat what has already been said) · eo gurdi (repeat what has already been said) · pt contar (narrate or tell) · ru излагать (narrate or tell) · vi tập dượt (practice by repetition or recitation) · fr répéter (practice by repetition or recitation) · it raccontare (narrate or tell) · ca assajar (practice by repetition or recitation) · nl repeteren (practice by repetition or recitation) · de erzählen (narrate or tell) · el αφηγούμαι (narrate or tell) · fa تکرار کردن (repeat what has already been said) · sv repa (practice by repetition or recitation) · it ripetere (repeat what has already been said) · it ripassare (practice by repetition or recitation) · cs zkoušet (practice by repetition or recitation) · ca reproduir (repeat what has already been said)