limerick

noun

Definition of limericknext
as in sonnet
a humorous rhyming composition of five lines She recited an old limerick which elicited guffaws from the crowd

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of limerick They were trained to repeat dirty jokes and limericks about Ed Gein and Jeffrey Dahmer to customers. — Rachel Hale, USA Today, 10 July 2025 There’s a person writing beautiful custom poems that are sort of dirty limericks. — Emily Leibert, Curbed, 2 Nov. 2024 Instead, what we’re served feels more like dirty limericks delivered at an excruciating pace by a bore with bad breath. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2024 In countless interviews, Joel has mused that the waltzing chord progression is monotonous and the lyrics akin to limericks. — Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 9 May 2024 See All Example Sentences for limerick
Recent Examples of Synonyms for limerick
  1. sonnet
  2. poem
  3. rhyme
  4. psalm
  5. verse
Noun
  • People can and should be skeptical about the sonnets written about starting NFL quarterbacks every offseason, when no one is getting sacked and almost everyone looks good.
    — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 30 July 2026
  • The conventions ground the writing as meter and rhyme steady a sonnet.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 July 2026
Definition of sonnet
Noun
  • And for me, poems, especially these sorts of poems in this collection, are time capsules.
    — Terry Gross, NPR, 14 Aug. 2026
  • For Fried is, as his poems prove, a writer attuned to the shape of thought and the sound of a word.
    — Carlos Valladares, ARTnews.com, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of poem
Noun
  • Growing up in Queens as hip-hop came of age, Rozell Manely Brown desired nothing more than a drum machine to back up his rhyme.
    — Jonathon Keats, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
  • The first half was a scrappy, testy affair with very little rhythm or rhyme from both teams.
    — Aleks Klosok, CNN Money, 15 July 2026
Definition of rhyme
Noun
  • But presiding over his daughter’s outdoor wedding helped, fulfilling another psalm’s promise.
    — Peter Smith, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026
  • The word appears 71 times across 39 of the 150 psalms, especially in ones written by David.
    — Drew Goins, The Atlantic, 28 July 2026
Definition of psalm
Noun
  • What began as a more faithful attempt at recreating Shakespearean verse gradually evolved as the team tried to figure out how to make something that spoke to then-contemporary anxieties.
    — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 8 Aug. 2026
  • By the fourth verse, as the baby dove falls asleep beneath its mother’s wing, Josée had stopped breathing.
    — Sai Rajagopal, STAT, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of verse

Browse Nearby Words

limelights
limerick
limericks
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Cite this Entry

“Limerick.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/limerick. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on limerick

Nglish: Translation of limerick for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about limerick

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