What does rehearse mean?
Rehearse means to practice a performance or prepare it carefully before it takes place. The word is especially common for actors, musicians, dancers, speakers, and presenters who repeat and refine their parts so that they can perform with confidence. In a broader sense, rehearse can describe examining a plan or preparing for a difficult event, as in rehearsing an argument or an emergency response. Although a rehearsal is intended to make the final performance appear natural, it is often the stage where performers make important decisions about pacing, tone, and interpretation. The word carries a broadly neutral, professional connotation and is used in both formal and everyday English.
To practice or prepare something, especially a performance, before presenting it to an audience.
"The cast rehearsed the play for several weeks before opening night."
Common in the context of theater, music, dance, speeches, and other performances.
To examine, arrange, or think through something carefully in preparation for a future event.
"The team rehearsed its response to the approaching deadline."
This broader sense is less common than the performance-related meaning and often implies careful preparation rather than repeated practice alone.
A rehearsal is a performance's rehearsal for life: mistakes made before the audience arrives become invisible on stage.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does rehearse come from?
The verb comes through Middle English from Anglo-French or Old French forms based on Latin repetere, meaning “to repeat.” Its early sense referred to repeating or practicing something, and the modern theatrical sense developed from the practice of repeating performances before presenting them publicly. The same Latin root underlies English words such as repeat, repetition, repetitive, and repertoire.
Related word forms
How rehearse is actually used
In its most common sense, rehearse refers to preparing a performance, such as a play, speech, dance, or musical work. It can also have the more general sense of preparing carefully for an important event.