rhyme scheme

noun

: the arrangement of rhymes in a stanza or a poem

Examples of rhyme scheme in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Even something that doesn’t have a rhyme scheme will have line breaks, a rhythm. Leila Sloman, Quanta Magazine, 12 Jan. 2024 With sweet illustrations, a rhyme scheme and a cool surprise on the last page, this is an engaging and lively read for and with kids under 6 or so. Roxana Popescu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Nov. 2023 In a novella structured like a mix tape and written in the cadence and rhyme scheme of rap lyrics, a dying football star’s resurrection is contingent on limitations to his native abilities. Amal El-Mohtar, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2023 His multisyllabic rhyme schemes took verses to a level beyond what was currently in the marketplace at the time. Daniel Kohn, Spin, 28 Aug. 2023 In this example, the stanzas all share the same rhyme scheme. Christopher Norris, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2022 What sort of rhyme scheme is used in the poem? Lucy Jakub, The New York Review of Books, 4 Dec. 2021 Instead, Deep-speare independently learned three sets of rules that pertain to sonnet writing: rhythm, rhyme scheme, and the fundamentals of natural language (which words go together). IEEE Spectrum, 30 Apr. 2020 The meter goes jaunty-iambic, smutty-iambic, with an ABAB rhyme scheme, as if to emphasize the mechanical, tum-pum nature of the thing. James Parker, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rhyme scheme.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1889, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of rhyme scheme was in 1889

Dictionary Entries Near rhyme scheme

Cite this Entry

“Rhyme scheme.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rhyme%20scheme. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

rhyme scheme

noun
: the arrangement of rhymes in a stanza or a poem

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