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

• preview
• practice
• practise
• trial

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

Suddenly, Amador – a popular former principal dancer who had been the company’s rehearsal director since 2020 – was thrust into the position of interim artistic director. —David Lyman, The Enquirer, 7 Aug. 2025

Narvel Blackstock previously served as Clarkson’s manager, and the singer and her future husband first met at a rehearsal for the Academy of Country Music Awards in May 2006, when Blackstock was still married to ex-wife Melissa Ashworth. —Rachel Desantis, People.com, 7 Aug. 2025

Audition times and requirements, sign-up documents, rehearsal schedules (in part for designation of conflicts) and more details are available at balletarkansas.org/community-cast-auditions. —Eric E. Harrison, Arkansas Online, 6 Aug. 2025

The facility's multiple rehearsal rooms are designed and marked just like the stage inside the Walt Disney Theater on each of Disney’s cruise ships. —Megan Dubois, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025

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

• demersal
• 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