rime

1 of 3

noun

1
2
: an accumulation of granular ice tufts on the windward sides of exposed objects that is formed from supercooled fog or cloud and built out directly against the wind
3

rime

2 of 3

verb

rimed; riming

transitive verb

: to cover with or as if with rime

rime, rimester

3 of 3

less common spellings of rhyme, rhymester

1
a(1)
: rhyming verse
(2)
: poetry
b
: a composition in verse that rhymes
2
a
: correspondence in terminal sounds of units of composition or utterance (such as two or more words or lines of verse)
b
: one of two or more words thus corresponding in sound
c
: correspondence of other than terminal word sounds: such as
(1)
3

Examples of rime in a Sentence

Noun a heavy coating of rime rime on the bedroom window after a bitterly cold night Verb frost riming the doorknob
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Noun
Waddington is notorious for its fickle weather—the peak is regularly hit by storms off the Pacific Ocean that freeze the summit in rime ice. Corbin Reiff, Outside Online, 22 Oct. 2024 The weather briefing included information about moderate icing between Carrizo Springs and Bridgeport and light rime ice between 4,000 and 6,000 feet in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, according to the report. Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Jan. 2024 The heavy stream of precipitation at such high elevations means that water droplets soon freeze into thick ice called rime ice, which has to be knocked off manually and can take many hours to clear. Annie Vainshtein, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Mar. 2023 Soon the steam from my breath had pushed up to my eyelashes and forehead, creating bright white rime in my hair, eyelashes, and cheeks. Alli Harvey, Anchorage Daily News, 25 Dec. 2022 At the heart of Owens Lake, there is still water — it’s just super salty and capped by a mineral rime. Leia Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 11 Oct. 2022 Chunks of ice, rime, and andesite peel off cliff bands and pelt climbers, especially in warm conditions. Outside Online, 29 May 2022 Experience soon established the prevalence of propeller-icing hazards and the extraordinary tenacity of rime-ice formations. Aubrey O. Cookman, Popular Mechanics, 9 Sep. 2021 In this case, each bit of rime sparked a new crystal to form. Leslie Nemo, Scientific American, 11 Feb. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English rim, from Old English hrīm; akin to Old Norse hrīm frost

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1755, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of rime was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near rime

Cite this Entry

“Rime.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rime. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

rime

2 of 3 verb
rimed; riming
: to cover with or as if with rime

rime

3 of 3

variant of rhyme

More from Merriam-Webster on rime

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