What does "rehearse" mean?

To repeat, as what has been already said; to tell over again; to recite.

What is a synonym for "rehearse"?

Common synonyms include: add up, allege, allegorize, announce, apprentice, battologize.

/[ɹɪˈhɜːs]/ verb

verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Verb

1
To repeat, as what has been already said; to tell over again; to recite. transitive
"There’s no need to rehearse the same old argument; we’ve heard it before, and we all agree."
2
engage in a rehearsal (of) wordnet
3
To narrate; to relate; to tell; to recount. transitive
"The witness rehearsed the events of the night before for the listening detectives."
4
To practise by recitation or repetition in private for experiment and improvement, prior to a public representation, especially in theater. ambitransitive
"The main actors spent on average two hours a day rehearsing before the first night."
5
To cause to rehearse; to instruct by rehearsal. transitive
"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."

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6
To contrive and carefully prepare (a story, etc.) to offer consistency.
"The Crown argued that the accused had rehearsed her story."

"Let's rehearse the fourth scene."

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

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.