rhyme
rhyme Lexical Profile
rhyme Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when used at the ends of lines of poetry.
"The poet used a simple alternating rhyme scheme to give the ballad a musical quality."
A short poem in which the sound of the word or syllable at the end of each line corresponds with that at the end of another, such as a nursery verse or jingle.
"The teacher taught the children a catchy rhyme to help them remember the days of each month."
A word that has the same ending sound as another word.
"She searched her mind for a clever rhyme for the word "silver" before rewriting the line."
• verb
To have or end with a sound that corresponds to another word or syllable (of a word, syllable, or line).
"The word "bright" rhymes with "light" and "flight"."
To place or use words together in a poem or song so that their terminal sounds correspond.
"Songwriters frequently rhyme "love" with "above" in traditional pop ballads."
Word Nuance & Usage
Although "rime" is a historical spelling of "rhyme" (preserved in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"), in modern usage "rime" almost exclusively refers to hoarfrost, while "rhyme" refers to poetic sound correspondence.
• Rhymes for rhyme
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in Middle English as "rime" from Old French "rime", which ultimately derives from Latin "rhythmus" and Ancient Greek "rhythmos" (measured motion, symmetry, rhythm); the modern "rh-" and "-y-" spelling was introduced in the 16th century to reflect this classical Greek root.