rehearsal

noun

re·​hears·​al ri-ˈhər-səl 

1

: something recounted or told again : recital

2

a

: a private performance or practice session preparatory to a public appearance

b

: a practice exercise : trial

Synonyms of rehearsal

• practice
• trial
• preview

Examples of rehearsal in a Sentence

She was 15 minutes late to rehearsal.

There are only three more rehearsals before the concert.

Recent Examples on the Web

During the rehearsal, Pritchard was sometimes brusque with Hamilton, correcting her form with his feet and insisting on certain steps. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 22 July 2026

As Mars’s gravity slung the spacecraft onto the next leg of its journey, mission scientists used the opportunity to put its multispectral imager through a full dress rehearsal. — Sam MacDonald, Scientific American, 21 July 2026

Later, Rothmann and Duncan told me that Rothmann had never been in the stage harness before that rehearsal, which was a little more than two weeks before the première. — Lauren Oyler, New Yorker, 20 July 2026

Rivero was due at a technical rehearsal after our interview before appearing onstage later that evening. — Noel Burgess, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing rehearsal

• dress rehearsal
• in rehearsal
• pre-rehearsal
• rehearsal dinner
• wedding rehearsal

Rhymes for rehearsal

• dispersal
• reversal
• transversal
• traversal
• bursal
• versal
• universal

Kids Definition

rehearsal

noun

re·​hears·​al ri-ˈhər-səl 

1

: a private performance or practice session in preparation for a public appearance

2

: a practice exercise : trial

Medical Definition

rehearsal

noun

re·​hears·​al ri-ˈhər-səl 

1

: a method for improving memory by mentally or verbally repeating over and over the information to be remembered

2

: the repeated mental review of a desired action or behavioral response

preoperative rehearsal of coping imagery to reduce anxiety