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

In 1967, the Saturday Evening Post assigned Didion to interview the Grateful Dead in their Bay Area rehearsal space at the height of the Summer of Love (with which the group was already disilluioned). —Jem Aswad, Variety, 19 May 2026

That night, the two met while in their first rehearsal for a play, and became best friends. —Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 19 May 2026

Another survivor of the drone strike, Master Sergeant Ann Marie Carrier, said the Army didn't plan for a mass casualty event, and there were never any run-throughs or rehearsals leading up to the start of the Iranian campaign, dubbed Operation Epic Fury by the Pentagon. —Michael Kaplan, CBS News, 19 May 2026

At one point, Richards invited Quinn to a private rehearsal session in Lower Manhattan. —Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 18 May 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