rhyme

/ɹaɪm/

//ɹaɪm// noun

"rhyme" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rhyme” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,800. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,800
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Rhyming verse (poetic form)

Corpus desk

Index EN-rhyme · rhyme · English

rhyme · rank #13,800 · 8 variants · 9 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,800
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 9 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH reversal

Nearest frequency peer: reversal (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “rhyme”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “rhyme” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

rhyme vs rye
60% similar
rhyme vs Rome
40% similar
rhyme vs Rhys
40% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for rhyme
PropertyValue
Headwordrhyme
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹaɪm/
Letters5
Frequency rank#13,800
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “rhyme”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).rhymelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “reversal” (#13,799), “rue” (#13,801), “Revelations” (#13,798). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “rhyme” is #13,800. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around rhyme (IPA /ɹaɪm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,800 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for rhyme, with forms such as "hryme", "rhhyme", and "rhmye". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "rye", "Rome", "Rhys", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English rim, rime, ryme (“identical letters or sounds in words from the vowel in their stressed syllables to their ends; measure, meter, rhythm; song, verse, etc., with rhyming lines”), from Anglo-Norman rime, ryme (“identical letters or sounds … The correct English form is rhyme, spelled R-H-Y-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Rhyming verse (poetic form)
  2. 2
    A thought expressed in verse; a verse; a poem; a tale told in verse.
  3. 3
    A word that rhymes with another.
  4. 4
    A word that rhymes with another.
  5. 5
    Rhyming: sameness of letters or sounds of part of some words.
  6. 6
    The second part of a syllable, from the vowel on, as opposed to the onset.
  7. 7
    An instance of rapping; a rapped verse; a line or couple lines of rapping; a hip hop song.
  8. 8
    A rapper's oeuvre, lyricism or skill.
  9. 9
    Number.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how rhyme appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Many editors say they don’t want stories written in rhyme these days.
  2. Libels are caſt againſt thee in the ſtreete, / Ballads and rimes made of thy ouerthrovv.

Etymology

From Middle English rim, rime, ryme (“identical letters or sounds in words from the vowel in their stressed syllables to their ends; measure, meter, rhythm; song, verse, etc., with rhyming lines”), from Anglo-Norman rime, ryme (“identical letters or sounds in words from the vowel in their stressed syllables to their ends; song, verse, etc., with rhyming lines”) (modern French rime); further etymology uncertain, possibly either: * from Latin rhythmus (“rhythm”), from Ancient Greek ῥῠθμός (rhŭthmós, “measured motion, rhythm; regular, repeating motion, vibration”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *srew- (“to flow; a stream”); or * borrowed from Frankish *rīm (“number, order, sequence, series, row of identical things”) (whence Old English rīm (“number, enumeration, series”)), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂rey- (“to arrange; to count”) and *h₂er- (“to fit, put together; to fix; to slot”). Cognates * Ancient Greek ἀριθμός (arithmós, “number”) * Dutch rijm (“rhyme”) * Middle Low German rīm (“rhyme”) * Old Frisian rīm (“number, amount, tale”) * Old High German rīm (“series, row, number”) (modern German Reim (“rhyme”)) * Old Irish rīm (“number”) * Old Norse rím (“calculation, calendar”) (Icelandic rím (“rhyme”), Norwegian rim (“rhyme”), Swedish rim (“rhyme”)) * Welsh rhif (“number”)

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hryme
  • rhhyme
  • rhmye
  • rhyem
  • rhymme
  • rhyyme
  • rrhyme
  • ryhme

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of rhyme - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

hryme2rhhyme1rhmye2rhyem2rhymme1rhyyme1rrhyme1ryhme2
Edit distance from "rhyme"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "rhyme"?
"rhyme" is spelled R-H-Y-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹaɪm/.
What does "rhyme" mean?
As a noun, "rhyme" means: Rhyming verse (poetic form)
What words are commonly confused with "rhyme"?
"rhyme" is commonly confused with "rye", "Rome", "Rhys". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "rhyme"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rhyme" is /ɹaɪm/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "rhyme"?
From Middle English rim, rime, ryme (“identical letters or sounds in words from the vowel in their stressed syllables to their ends; measure, meter, rhythm; song, verse, etc., with rhyming lines”), from Anglo-Norman rime, ryme (“identical letters ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "rhyme", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list