rhyme scheme

[ rahym skeem ]

noun

1. the pattern of rhymes used in a poem, usually marked by letters to symbolize correspondences, as rhyme royal, ababbcc.

Word History and Origins

Origin of rhyme scheme¹

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

“People think, oh, they just rap about this, or they’re just rapping about, like, the easy rhyme scheme or the easy — but to be in a studio and write five songs a day, seven days a week about new topics and make it sound different, it’s very, very impressive.”

From New York Times

A 1953 work, “Factory Poem,” whose alternating four- and three-beat lines and A-B-C-B rhyme scheme echo the structure of many old British ballads, begins:

From New York Times

The sonnet, with its 14 lines and strict rhyme scheme, dates back centuries.

From BBC

The last line is just here because rhyme scheme.

From Washington Post

Also worth noting: The song, “Ah, but Underneath,” is just one of three he wrote for the same spot in the show, each new one as insightful as the last but with a completely different concept and rhyme scheme, bringing out different elements of Phyllis’s personality.

From New York Times