What does "rime" mean?
Archaic in the form rimes: originally, any frozen dew forming a white deposit on exposed surfaces; hoar frost (sense 1).
Rime
/ɹaɪm/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Archaic in the form rimes: originally, any frozen dew forming a white deposit on exposed surfaces; hoar frost (sense 1).
- Grammar: rime is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: frost, hoarfrost, rhyme, abysm.
- Useful contrasts: melt, melting, prose.
- Usage evidence: Rime was originally supposed to be an exclusive for the PS4, but now it's multi-platform.
How to use "rime"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "rime" 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 "rime" 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 "rime" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "rime" 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 "rime" 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 "frost" 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 "rime", 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 Archaic in the form rimes: originally, any frozen dew forming a white deposit on exposed surfaces; hoar frost (sense 1). countable, uncountable
"In a Hoar-Froſt, that vvhich vve call a Rime, is a Multitude of Quadrangular Priſmes, exactly figured, but piled vvithout any Order, one over another."
- 2 Archaic spelling of rhyme (“word that rhymes with another”). alt-of, archaic, countable, uncountable
"Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote The Rime of the Ancient Mariner in 1797–1798."
- 3 A narrow aperture or opening; a chink, a crack, a fissure; a rent, a rip. obsolete, transitive
"[T]he ſevvet of oxen […] is alſo good againſt the inflammation of the eares, the ſtupidity and dulneſſe of the teeth, the running of the eyes, the vlcers and rimes of the mouth, and ſtiffneſſe of the neck."
- 4 correspondence in the sounds of two or more lines (especially final sounds) wordnet
- 5 A film or slimy coating. countable, figuratively, uncountable
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 The second part of a syllable, from the vowel on (as opposed to the onset). countable, uncountable
- 7 ice crystals forming a white deposit (especially on objects outside) wordnet
- 8 White hair as an indication of old age. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"Tales that have the rime of age, / And chronicles of Eld."
- 9 Ice formed by the rapid freezing of cold water droplets of fog on to a cold surface. countable, uncountable
- 10 A coating or sheet of ice so formed. countable, uncountable
- 11 A cold fog or mist. British, countable, regional, uncountable
"When Tommy and Elspeth reached the Den the mist lay so thick that they had to feel their way though it to the Ailie, where they found Gavinia alone and scared. […] "As sure as death," she said, "there was some living thing standing there; I couldna see it for the rime, but I heard it breathing hard.""
Verb
- 1 To cover (something) with rime (noun etymology 1 sense 1 or etymology 1 sense 3.1) or (loosely) hoar frost. transitive
"―No more ſhall hoary Boreas, iſſuing forth / VVith Eurus, lead the tempeſts of the North; / Rime the pale Davvn, or veil'd in flaky ſhovvers / Chill the ſvveet boſoms of the ſmiling Hours."
- 2 Archaic spelling of rhyme. alt-of, archaic
"Ha, ha, hovv vildely doth this Cynicke rime?"
- 3 Followed by up: to count (something); to number, to reckon. ambitransitive, archaic
- 4 Synonym of ream.; To enlarge (a hole), especially using a tool such as a reamer. transitive
- 5 To dye (wool or yarn) reddish-brown by boiling or soaking in water with alder twigs. Ireland, rare, transitive
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 Followed by into: to probe, to pry. intransitive, obsolete, rare, transitive
"Our act was, with finger, and nail, and eye, to rime into every jot of it [a case]; and our words were—'I am sure there is something inside. If not, it would open sensibly.'"
- 7 compose rhymes wordnet
- 8 To cover (something) with a thin coating or film; to coat. figuratively, transitive
"Oh, London, London! […] the mornings silvery gray, and the multitudinous monuments rimed by years, thunder of hoofs in ways without end, and the silence of mighty parks—Bud lay awake in the nights to think of them."
- 9 Synonym of ream.; To remove debris from inside (something, such as a freshly bored hole or a pipe) using a tool. transitive
- 10 be similar in sound, especially with respect to the last syllable wordnet
- 11 Sometimes followed by up: of a thing: to become covered with rime or (loosely) hoar frost. intransitive
Example
"Rime was originally supposed to be an exclusive for the PS4, but now it's multi-platform."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "rime"?
Common synonyms include: frost, hoarfrost, rhyme, abysm, abyss, arroyo.
How do you use "rime" in a sentence?
Rime was originally supposed to be an exclusive for the PS4, but now it's multi-platform.
How do you pronounce "rime"?
Pronounced /ɹaɪm/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
The noun is derived from Middle English rim, rime, rym, ryme (“hoar frost; rime”), from Old English hrīm (“frost”), from Proto-West Germanic *hrīm (“rime; hoar frost”), from Proto-Germanic *hrīmą (North Germanic), *hrīmaz, *hrīmô (“rime; hoar frost”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *krey- (“to graze, touch; to streak”). The verb is derived from the noun. (The Old English equivalent, which did not survive into modern English, was behrīman.) Cognates * Middle Dutch riim, rijm, rīm (modern Dutch rijm (“hoar frost”)) * Old Danish *rim (only in rimfrost (“rime frost”); modern Danish rim (“hoar frost”)) * Old French rime, rimee (Middle French rime, rimee (“hoar frost”), Anglo-Norman rime, rimee (“hoar frost”)) * Old High German rīm (Middle High German rīm, Bavarian Reim (“dew; fog; light frost”) (dialectal)) * Old Norse hrím (Icelandic hrím, Norwegian rim (“hoar frost”)) * Old Saxon hrīm * Old Swedish *riim, *rim (only in rimfrost (“rime frost”); modern Swedish rim) * West Frisian rime, rym
Etymology 2
A variant of rhyme (noun and verb), from Middle English rim, rime, ryme (“identical sound in words from the vowel in their stressed syllables to their ends; measure, meter, rhythm; song, verse, etc., with rhyming lines”, noun), and 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”, verb): see further at rhyme.
Etymology 3
From Middle English rimen, rime (“to count, enumerate”) [and other forms], from Old English rīman, rȳman (“to count, number, reckon; to calculate, compute, count up; to enumerate, recount; to account, esteem as”) (rare), from Proto-Germanic *rīmijaną, *rīmaną (“to count, enumerate”), from Proto-Indo-European *(a)rēy- (“to add; to count; to customize; to order, regulate”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *h₂rey- (“to arrange; to count”), ultimately from *h₂er- (“to fit, put together; to fix; to slot”), and thus a doublet of rhyme.
Etymology 4
From Middle English rimen, rime (“to clear (a way); to make room for (something); to open up (something); to prepare (something)”) [and other forms], from Old English rīman, rȳman (“to make roomy, enlarge, extend, spread, widen; to make clear by removing obstructions, to clear a way, clear, open up; to amplify; to prolong”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *rūmijan (“to clear out, make room”), from Proto-Germanic *rūmijaną (“to clear out, make room”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Hrewh₁- (“to open; wide”). Doublet of room.
Etymology 5
From Irish ruaim, from Old Irish rúam (“alder tree; alder bark; dye for wool made from alder bark; dun or red colour”) (probably whence Irish ruaimnigh, Old Irish rúamnaigid (“to dye red”)); further etymology unknown.
Etymology 6
The noun is derived from Late Middle English rim (“cleft, crack, fissure”), from Latin rīma (“chink, cleft, crack, fissure”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(H)reyH- (“to cut; to tear”). Doublet of rima. The verb is derived from Latin rīmārī, the present active infinitive of rīmor (“to explore; to probe; to search”), from rīma (see above) + -or.