Dictionary

rhyme en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• [ɹɑe̯m] (New-Zealand)
• (California) audio
• /ɹɑem/ (Australia)
• /ɹaɪm/ (Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
• rīm

Etymology

From Middle English rim, rime, ryme (“identical letters or sounds in words from the vowel in their stressed syllables to their ends; measure, meter, rhythm; song, verse, etc., with rhyming lines”), from Anglo-Norman rime, ryme (“identical letters or sounds in words from the vowel in their stressed syllables to their ends; song, verse, etc., with rhyming lines”) (modern French rime); further etymology uncertain, possibly either: * from Latin rhythmus (“rhythm”), from Ancient Greek ῥῠθμός (rhŭthmós, “measured motion, rhythm; regular, repeating motion, vibration”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *srew- (“to flow; a stream”); or * borrowed from Frankish *rīm (“number, order, sequence, series, row of identical things”) (whence Old English rīm (“number, enumeration, series”)), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂rey- (“to arrange; to count”) and *h₂er- (“to fit, put together; to fix; to slot”). Cognates * Ancient Greek ἀριθμός (arithmós, “number”) * Dutch rijm (“rhyme”) * Middle Low German rīm (“rhyme”) * Old Frisian rīm (“number, amount, tale”) * Old High German rīm (“series, row, number”) (modern German Reim (“rhyme”)) * Old Irish rīm (“number”) * Old Norse rím (“calculation, calendar”) (Icelandic rím (“rhyme”), Norwegian rim (“rhyme”), Swedish rim (“rhyme”)) * Welsh rhif (“number”)

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) Rhyming verse (poetic form).
   • Many editors say they don’t want stories written in rhyme these days.
   • VVhen in the Chronicle of vvaſted time, / I ſee diſcriptions of the faireſt vvights, / And beautie making beautifull old rime, / In praiſe of Ladies dead, and louely Knights, […] 1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 106”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC, signature G3, recto:
   • I thought, if I could dravv my paines, / Through Rimes vexation, I ſhould them allay, / Griefe brought to numbers cannot be ſo fierce, / For, he tames it, that fetters it in verſe. a. 1631 (date written), J[ohn] Donne, “The Triple Foole”, in Poems, […] with Elegies on the Authors Death, London: […] M[iles] F[lesher] for Iohn Marriot, […], published 1633, →OCLC, page 204:
   • Thou, thou, Lyſander, thou haſt giuen her rimes, / And interchang'd loue tokens vvith my childe: […] c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame. […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, […], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], signature A2, verso:
   • Libels are caſt againſt thee in the ſtreete, / Ballads and rimes made of thy ouerthrovv. 1594, Christopher Marlow[e], The Troublesome Raigne and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England: […], London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press] for Henry Bell, […], published 1622, →OCLC, [Act II], signature [D4], recto:
2. (countable, uncountable) A thought expressed in verse; a verse; a poem; a tale told in verse.
   • Tennyson’s rhymes
3. (countable) A word that rhymes with another.
   • Norse poetry is littered with rhymes like “sól … sunnan”.
   • Rap makes use of rhymes such as “money … honey” and “nope … dope”.
4. (countable, in particular) A word that rhymes with another. ▸ A word that rhymes with another, in that it is pronounced identically with the other word from the vowel in its stressed syllable to the end.
   • "Awake" is a rhyme for "lake".
5. (uncountable) Rhyming: sameness of letters or sounds of part of some words.
   • The poem exhibits a peculiar form of rhyme.
   • [S]hould not all the world delight to honour this unfortunate and loyal follower of the Muses? May Apollo send him rimes hitherto undreamed of; […] 1878, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Précy and the Marionettes”, in An Inland Voyage, London: C[harles] Kegan Paul & Co., […], →OCLC, page 232:
   • Sometimes a man knovvs a place determinate, vvithin the compaſſe vvhereof he is to ſeek: […] as a man ſhould run over the Alphabet, to ſtart a rime. 1651, Thomas Hobbes, “Of the Consequence or Trayne of Imaginations”, in Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme, & Power of a Common-wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civill, London: […] [William Wilson] for Andrew Crooke, […], →OCLC, 1st part (Of Man), page 10:
   • [M]ary I cannot ſhevv it in rime, I haue tried, I can finde out no rime to Ladie, but babie, an innocent rime: for ſcorne, horne, a hard rime: for ſchoole foole, a babling rime: very ominous endings, no, I vvas not borne vnder a riming plannet, nor i cannot vvooe in feſtiuall termes: […] 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, Much Adoe about Nothing. […], quarto edition, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii], signature I, verso:
6. (countable, uncountable) The second part of a syllable, from the vowel on, as opposed to the onset.
7. (countable, informal, qualifier:African-American Vernacular; hip hop; African-American Vernacular; hip hop, uncountable) An instance of rapping; a rapped verse; a line or couple lines of rapping; a hip hop song.
   • I heard Drake's new rhyme last night.
8. (broadly, countable, informal, qualifier:African-American Vernacular; hip hop; always plural; African-American Vernacular; hip hop; always plural, uncountable) A rapper's oeuvre, lyricism or skill.
   • His rhymes are all weak.
9. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) Number.

Forms

Coordinates

onset

Deriveds

rhymey · masculine rhyme · sight rhyme · rhymer · rhyme or reason · riding rhyme · rhyme book · historic rhyme · rhymemaker · rhymable · mind rhyme · imperfect rhyme · rhymery · counting rhyme · rhymical · forced rhyme · unrhyme · male rhyme · rhymemaking · monorhyme · rhymic · rhymelet · rhymability · vowel rhyme · rhyme scheme · female rhyme · rhymester · he who said the rhyme did the crime · rhymewise · sprung rhyme · interrhyme · outrhyme · rhymeless · refractory rhyme · visual rhyme · rhymist · rhymefest · misrhyme · rhyme letter · nursery rhyme · feminine rhyme · eye rhyme · holorhyme · quasi-rhyme · consonant rhyme · rhyme dictionary · syllabic rhyme · rhyme nor reason · head rhyme · rhymeprose · rhyme royal · oblique rhyme · broken rhyme · rhymelike · stave rhyme · berhyme · tail rhyme · rhyme-tag

Hyponyms

pararhyme (half rhyme, near rhyme) · slant rhyme (half rhyme, near rhyme) · end rhyme · cross rhyme · perfect rhyme · internal rhyme · true rhyme · stave-rhyme · exact rhyme · full rhyme

Meronyms

nucleus · coda

Translations (140)

gl rima (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · tg қофия (word that rhymes with another) · nl versje (verse, poetry) · bg стих (verse, poetry) · ro rimă (word that rhymes with another) · prs قَافِیَه (word that rhymes with another) · hu rím (word that rhymes with another) · sq gjasërame (word that rhymes with another) · uk ри́ма (word that rhymes with another) · fr strophe (verse, poetry) · km ឃ្លោង (word that rhymes with another) · sw kina (verse, poetry) · ka რითმა (word that rhymes with another) · it rima (second part of a syllable) · de Reim (verse, poetry) · nl rijmwoord (word that rhymes with another) · el ομοιοκαταληξία (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · ta எதுகை (word that rhymes with another) · el ομοιοκαταληξία (verse, poetry) · be верш (verse, poetry) · nl rijm (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · ko 압운 (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · tr kafiye (word that rhymes with another) · ms rima (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · sh srok (word that rhymes with another) · mi huarite (word that rhymes with another) · it rima (word that rhymes with another) · yi גראַם (verse, poetry) · fi riimi (verse, poetry) · ar قَصِيدَة (verse, poetry) · cmn 韻文 /韵文 (verse, poetry) · de Reim (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · ro rimă (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · cs rýmovačka (verse, poetry) · sh слик (word that rhymes with another) · sq rimë (word that rhymes with another) · ur قافِیَہ (verse, poetry) · ota قافیه (word that rhymes with another) · fa-ira قافِیِه (word that rhymes with another) · sv rim (verse, poetry) · ms rima (word that rhymes with another) · sv rim (word that rhymes with another) · my ကာရန် (word that rhymes with another) · pt poesia (verse, poetry) · ca rima (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · bg сти́хче (verse, poetry) · th สัมผัส (word that rhymes with another) · fr rime (word that rhymes with another) · th กลอน (verse, poetry) · he חָרוּז (word that rhymes with another) · prs قَافِیَه (verse, poetry) · ko 운 (word that rhymes with another) · grc ὁμοιοκαταληξία (word that rhymes with another) · hi तुक (word that rhymes with another) · is rím (verse, poetry) · pl rym (word that rhymes with another) · el ομοιοκαταληξία (word that rhymes with another) · nb rim (word that rhymes with another) · fa-ira قافِیِه (verse, poetry) · ar سَجْع (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · hy հանգ (word that rhymes with another) · ky уйкаштык (word that rhymes with another) · ro rimă (verse, poetry) · cs (dětská) říkanka (verse, poetry) · es rima (word that rhymes with another) · lt rimas (word that rhymes with another) · nl vers (verse, poetry) · sh slik (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · mi huarite (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · ro vers (verse, poetry) · mk рима (word that rhymes with another) · ja 韻 (word that rhymes with another) · ru стих (verse, poetry) · ru ри́фма (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · be ры́фма (word that rhymes with another) · sk rým (word that rhymes with another) · ur قافِیَہ (word that rhymes with another) · gl rima (verse, poetry) · ru ри́фма (word that rhymes with another) · sh srok (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · fr vers (verse, poetry) · sl rima (word that rhymes with another) · bg стихотворе́ние (verse, poetry) · ar أُسْجُوعَة (verse, poetry) · uk вірш (verse, poetry) · he חֲרִיזָה (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · sh рима (word that rhymes with another) · fi riimi (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · cs rým (word that rhymes with another) · de Reim (word that rhymes with another) · ms rima (verse, poetry) · ota قافیه (verse, poetry) · kk ұйқас (word that rhymes with another) · sh rima (word that rhymes with another) · eo rimo (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · lo ໂຄງ (verse, poetry) · tr uyak (verse, poetry) · yo odo (second part of a syllable) · mi kupu huarite (word that rhymes with another) · pt rima (word that rhymes with another) · km ជួន (word that rhymes with another) · ta ஒத்திசை (word that rhymes with another) · he חֲרִיזָה (verse, poetry) · sh срок (word that rhymes with another) · gl rima (word that rhymes with another) · nl rijm (verse, poetry) · de Silbenreim (second part of a syllable) · th กาพย์ (verse, poetry) · nl rijm (word that rhymes with another) · cmn 韻腳 /韵脚 (word that rhymes with another) · pt rima (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · sw kina (word that rhymes with another) · da rim (word that rhymes with another) · tr kafiye (verse, poetry) · fi riimi (word that rhymes with another) · lv atskaņa (word that rhymes with another) · bg ри́ма (word that rhymes with another) · lo ສຳຜັດ (word that rhymes with another) · az qafiyə (word that rhymes with another) · nl rijmpje (verse, poetry) · bg ри́ма (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · ca rima (verse, poetry) · is rím (word that rhymes with another) · fi sointu (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · ja 詩 (verse, poetry) · ja 押韻 (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · km កាព្យ (verse, poetry) · ru стихотворе́ние (verse, poetry) · ar قَافِيَة (word that rhymes with another) · cmn 韻 /韵 (word that rhymes with another) · uz qofiya (word that rhymes with another) · fr rime (second part of a syllable) · tg қофия (verse, poetry) · ca rima (word that rhymes with another) · vi vần (word that rhymes with another) · es rima (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · hu rím (second part of a syllable) · et riim (word that rhymes with another) · cmn 押韻 /押韵 (rhyming; sameness of letters or sounds of some parts of words, as ‘the poem exhibits rhyme’) · sh slik (word that rhymes with another)

rhyme en · VERB · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• [ɹɑe̯m] (New-Zealand)
• (California) audio
• /ɹɑem/ (Australia)
• /ɹaɪm/ (Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
• rīm

Etymology

From Middle English rimen, rymen, rim, rime (“to recite or write verse; to sing songs; to tell a story in verse; to fit into verse; (figurative) to agree, make sense”), from Anglo-Norman rimer, Middle French rimer, and Old French rimer (“to rhyme (a word) with another word; to write verse”) (modern French rimer), Old French rime, ryme (noun): see etymology 1. Cognates * Catalan rimar * Icelandic ríma * Italian rimar * Middle Dutch rīmen (modern Dutch rijmen) * Middle High German rīmen (modern German reimen) * Middle Low German rīmen * Old Danish rime (modern Danish rime) * Old Occitan rimar (“to rhyme (a word) with another word; to write verse”) * Old Swedish rima (modern Swedish rima) * Portuguese rimar * Spanish rimar

Meanings

1. (ambitransitive) To compose or treat in verse; versify.
   • Ha, ha, hovv vildely doth this Cynicke rime? 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii], page 125, column 2:
   • “He was aye rimin’,” said Miss Newbigging, “about this bonny countryside and the dacent folk that bode in it.” 1936 July, John Buchan, “Sanctuary”, in The Island of Sheep, London: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC, part II (Laverlaw), pages 152–153:
   • There marched the bard and blockhead, side by side, / Who rhymed for hire, and patronized for pride. 1742, [Alexander Pope], “Book the Fourth”, in The New Dunciad: As is^([sic]) It was Found in the Year 1741. […], Dublin: […] George Faulkner, →OCLC, lines 101-102:
   • How Panurge and the rest rim'd with Poetick Fury [chapter title] 1653, Francis Rabelais [i.e., François Rabelais], translated by [Thomas Urquhart, Peter Anthony Motteux], chapter XLVII, in The Works of Francis Rabelais, Doctor in Physick: Containing Five Books of the Lives, Heroick Deeds, and Sayings of Gargantua, and His Sonne Pantagruel. […], London: […] [Thomas Ratcliffe and Edward Mottershead] for Richard Baddeley, […], →OCLC; republished in volume II, London: […] Navarre Society […], [1948], →OCLC, 5th book, page 418:
2. (transitive) To place (a word or words) in such a way as to produce a rhyme or an approximation thereof.
   • Now she's tainted by the syringe Try to rhyme a word with orange 2009, Julian Casablancas, “Long Island Blues”, in Phrazes for the Young, Luxury Edition Deluxe Set bonus disc:
3. (followed by with, intransitive) Of a word, to be pronounced identically with another from the vowel in its stressed syllable to the end.
   • Creation rhymes with integration and station.
   • India and windier rhyme with each other in non-rhotic accents.
4. (of two or more words, reciprocal) To be pronounced identically from the vowel in the stressed syllable of each to the end of each.
   • Mug and rug rhyme.
5. (intransitive, of an utterance, qualifier:text, usually) To contain words that are pronounced identically to each other from the vowel in the stressed syllable to the end.
   • I rewrote the story to make it rhyme.
6. (figuratively, followed by with, intransitive) To somewhat resemble or correspond with.
   • In addition, the look rhymes with but inverts the meaning of the first silent look he gets instead of words when he asks Lucien in the photo shop if he remembers him, and Lucien shrugs his shoulders in denial. 2010, Tony Pipolo, Robert Bresson: A Passion for Film:
7. (obsolete, transitive) To number; count; reckon.

Forms

Deriveds

rhyme up · rhyme off · rhyming slang · rhymes-with-rich · rhyme out

Translations (68)

sl rimati se ((reciprocal)) · pl rymować ((transitive) put words together) · ja 韻を踏む ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · el ομοιοκαταληκτώ ((transitive) put words together) · sh srokovati ((reciprocal)) · cs rýmovat se ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · el ομοιοκαταληκτώ ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · hu rímel ((reciprocal)) · de sich reimen (mit) ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · nl rijmen ((transitive) put words together) · ja 韻を踏む ((transitive) put words together) · de reimen ((transitive) put words together) · es rimar ((reciprocal)) · sh srokovati ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · sl rimati se ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · sv rimma ((reciprocal)) · no rime ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · uk римува́тися ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · uk римува́ти ((transitive) put words together) · it fare rima ((transitive) put words together) · it mettere in rima ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · hu rímel ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · gl rimar ((reciprocal)) · yi גראַמען ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · it fare rima ((reciprocal)) · pt rimar ((transitive) put words together) · de sich reimen ((reciprocal)) · bg римувам ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · es rimar ((transitive) put words together) · ca rimar ((reciprocal)) · fi riimitellä ((transitive) put words together) · yi גראַמען ((transitive) put words together) · cs rýmovat ((transitive) put words together) · fr faire rimer ((transitive) put words together) · az qafiyələndirmək ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · cy odli ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · es rimar ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · ru рифмова́ться ((reciprocal)) · fi rimmata ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · uk римува́тися ((reciprocal)) · ca rimar ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · mi huarite ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · ro rima ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · mi huarite ((reciprocal)) · sv rimma ((transitive) put words together) · ru рифмова́ть ((transitive) put words together) · sh slikovati ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · sv rimma ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · cmn 押韻 /押韵 ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · sh slikovati ((reciprocal)) · pt rimar ((reciprocal)) · eo rimi ((transitive) put words together) · cs rýmovat se ((reciprocal)) · nl (op elkaar) rijmen ((reciprocal)) · gl rimar ((transitive) put words together) · nl rijmen ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · cmn 壓韻 /压韵 ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · gl rimar ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · da rime ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · ja 韻を踏む ((reciprocal)) · ca rimar ((transitive) put words together) · ja 押韻する ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · el ομοιοκαταληκτώ ((reciprocal)) · fr rimer ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · da rime ((reciprocal)) · pt rimar ((intransitive) to rhyme (with)) · fi rimmata ((reciprocal)) · ru рифмова́ться ((intransitive) to rhyme (with))