What does "rebus" mean?
An arrangement of pictures, symbols, or words representing phrases or words, especially as a word puzzle.
Rebus
/ˈɹiːbəs/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An arrangement of pictures, symbols, or words representing phrases or words, especially as a word puzzle.
- Grammar: rebus is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: anagram, charade, emblem, enigma.
- Useful contrasts: prose, text.
- Usage evidence: I back him at a Rebus or a Charade against the best Rhymer in the Kingdom—has your Ladyship heard the Epigram he wrote last week on Lady Frizzle's Feather catching Fire—
How to use "rebus"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "rebus" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "rebus" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "rebus" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "rebus" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "rebus" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "anagram" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "rebus", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An arrangement of pictures, symbols, or words representing phrases or words, especially as a word puzzle.
"I back him at a Rebus or a Charade against the best Rhymer in the Kingdom—has your Ladyship heard the Epigram he wrote last week on Lady Frizzle's Feather catching Fire—"
- 2 a puzzle where you decode a message consisting of pictures representing syllables and words wordnet
- 3 A pictographic component of a compound character (e.g. sinograph) used to hint at the pronunciation of the compound.
- 4 An arrangement of pictures on a coat of arms which suggests the name of the person to whom it belongs. specifically
"The prior [Will Bolton] used to come out here to hunt in summer and recreate himself, and his rebus—a barrel or tun shot through with a crossbow bolt—is set into the garden walls."
- 5 A type of crossword puzzle in which some squares contain entire words, or symbols representing words, instead of single letters.
"Instead of spelling out card suits, for example, perhaps the constructor inserted a "rebus," or picture icon for clubs, hearts, spades, or diamonds in one answer box."
Verb
- 1 To represent (a phrase or word) as a rebus. obsolete, rare, transitive
- 2 To apply a rebus to (something). obsolete, rare, transitive
"He [John Morton] was a learned man, and had a fair library, (rebussed with more in text and tun under it,) partly remaining in the possession of the late earl of Arundel."
Example
"I back him at a Rebus or a Charade against the best Rhymer in the Kingdom—has your Ladyship heard the Epigram he wrote last week on Lady Frizzle's Feather catching Fire—"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "rebus"?
Common synonyms include: anagram, charade, emblem, enigma, pictogram, puzzle.
How do you use "rebus" in a sentence?
I back him at a Rebus or a Charade against the best Rhymer in the Kingdom—has your Ladyship heard the Epigram he wrote last week on Lady Frizzle's Feather catching Fire—
How do you pronounce "rebus"?
Pronounced /ˈɹiːbəs/.
Etymology
From French rébus (“rebus (puzzle); ambiguity; word used in an oblique sense; unintelligible remark”), or directly from its probable etymon Latin rēbus, the ablative plural of rēs (“object, stuff, thing; issue, matter, subject, topic”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *reh₁ís (“goods; wealth”). The connection between the English word and its Latin etymon is unclear. further etymology The following possibilities have been suggested, but according to the Oxford English Dictionary are problematic: * According to the French scholar Gilles Ménage (1613–1692) in Les origines de la langue françoise (The Origins of the French Language, 1650), it is taken from the phrase de rebus quae geruntur (“concerning the things that are taking place”) which was used in 16th-century Picardy as the name for satirical writings on contemporary subjects containing picture-riddles that were composed for an annual carnival. However, the term rebus de Picardie is first attested later than the word rébus, and so could simply refer to rebuses popular in Picardy at the time. * Alternatively, it could be from the phrase nōn verbīs sed rēbus meaning “not by words but by things”, but this “encounters difficulties in the chronology of the senses in French”.