rehearse

From Middle English rehersen, from Anglo-Norman reherser.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): [ɹɪˈhɜːs]
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɹɨˈhɝs/

rehearse (third-person singular simple present rehearses, present participle rehearsing, simple past and past participle rehearsed)

1. (transitive) To repeat, as what has been already said; to tell over again; to recite.

   There's no need to rehearse the same old argument; we've heard it before, and we all agree.

2. (transitive) To narrate; to relate; to tell.

   The witness rehearsed the events of the night before for the listening detectives.

3. (transitive, intransitive) To practise by recitation or repetition in private for experiment and improvement, prior to a public representation, especially in theater
   • 1648, Robert Herrick, Hesperides, "When he would have his verses read":

     In sober mornings, do not thou reherse

     The holy incantation of a verse ...

   The main actors spent on average two hours a day rehearsing before the first night.

   The lawyer advised her client to rehearse her testimony before the trial date.

4. (transitive, theater) To cause to rehearse; to instruct by rehearsal.

   The director rehearsed the cast incessantly in the days leading up to opening night, and as a result they were tired and cranky when it arrived.

   • Charles Dickens

     He has been rehearsed by Madame Defarge as to his having seen her.

• rehearsal