rhyme

rhyme

I

rhyme¹ /raɪm/ noun1. [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.
     

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 | The children were reciting a rhyme. | a nursery rhyme (=a short traditional poem or song for children)

II

rhyme² 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’.