rinse
/ɹɛns/verb, noun
rinse is spelled R-I-N-S-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 3.0 times per million words in written English, the 15,368th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, rinse means “To wash (something) quickly using water and no soap” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in rinse?
| Letters | 5: R-I-N-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.0 times per million words; the 15,368th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is rinse?
Rinse appears 3.0 times per million words in written English, the 15,368th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce rinse?
- /ɹɪns/
- US /ɹɛns/
Rinse has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-rinse.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with rinse
Also written: rinse and repeat, rinse-repeat, wash, rinse, repeat.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with rinse?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as rinse from its last stressed vowel (/ɛns/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: risen, resin, siren, reins, serin.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of rinse
- rinses present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- rinsing participle, present
- rinsed participle, past
- rinch
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rinse mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To wash (something) quickly using water and no soap.
You'd better rinse that stain before putting the shirt in the washing machine.
- 2
To remove soap from (something) using water.
Rinse the dishes after you wash them.
- 3
To drink and hangout with friends.
Let's Rinse later tonight at my house.
- 4
To swish (a liquid) around the inside of something.
- 5
UKslangTo thoroughly defeat in an argument, fight or other competition.
You got rinsed.
noun
- 1
The action of rinsing.
I'll just give this knife a quick rinse.
- 2
A liquid used to rinse, now particularly a hair dye.
I had a henna rinse yesterday.
- 3
The act of drawing water into a syringe for the purported purpose of cleaning it.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Rinse in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does rinse come from?
From Middle English rinsen, rincen, rencen (“to rinse”), from Old French rincier, reinser, Old Northern French raïncer (“to rinse, cleanse”). Of contested origin. Possibly from Old Norse hreinsa, from Proto-Germanic *hrainisōną (“to clean, purify”), from Proto-Indo-European *krey- (“to separate, divide”). Alternatively from a dissimilation of Old French recincier, from Latin recentare (“to make fresh”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).