I. rhyme 1 /raɪm/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: rime , probably from Latin rhythmus ; ⇨ ↑ rhythm ]
1 . [countable] a short poem or song, especially for children, using words that rhyme:
a collection of traditional rhymes with illustrations
⇨ ↑ nursery rhyme
2 . [countable] a word that rhymes with another word
rhyme for
Can you think of a rhyme for ‘bicycle’?
3 . [uncountable] words or lines of poetry that rhyme:
I love his use of rhyme and rhythm.
in rhyme
The whole story is written in rhyme.
4 . no rhyme or reason no sensible reason or organization:
There seems to be no rhyme or reason for the school’s behaviour.
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THESAURUS
■ a poem
▪ poem a piece of writing that expresses emotions, experiences, and ideas, especially in short lines using words that rhyme:
‘I wandered lonely as a cloud’ is the first line of a famous poem by WIlliam Wordsworth.
▪ sonnet a poem with 14 lines which rhyme with each other in a fixed pattern:
Shakespeare’s sonnets
▪ haiku a type of Japanese poem with three lines consisting of five, seven, and five syllables:
a haiku by Matsuo Basho about a frog jumping into a pond
▪ limerick a short humorous poem that has five lines which rhyme:
a limerick by Edward Lear, which began ‘There was a young lady of Norway, Who casually sat in a doorway’.
▪ rhyme a short poem or song, especially for children, using words that rhyme:
a collection of traditional rhymes with illustrations
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The children were reciting a rhyme.
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a nursery rhyme (=a short traditional poem or song for children)
II. rhyme 2 BrE AmE verb [not in progressive]
1 . [intransitive] if two words or lines of poetry rhyme, they end with the same sound, including a vowel
rhyme with
‘Hat’ rhymes with ‘cat’.
The song has rhyming couplets (=pairs of lines that end in words that rhyme) .
2 . [transitive] to put two or more words together to make them rhyme
rhyme something with something
You can’t rhyme ‘box’ with ‘backs’.