What Is a Rhyming Dictionary and How Do Songwriters Use One

What a Rhyming Dictionary Is

A normal dictionary tells you what a word means. A rhyming dictionary tells you which words sound like it. You look up a word and get a list of words that rhyme with it, usually sorted by how many syllables they have.

A quick way to check the flow of your lines: paste a verse into the free Syllable Counter to see how many syllables each line has, and match a second verse to the first line by line.

The important part is that a good rhyming dictionary works by sound, not spelling. "Through" and "rough" look alike but don't rhyme. "Fire" and "higher" look nothing alike but rhyme perfectly. Modern rhyming dictionaries are built on pronouncing dictionaries, which store how each word is actually said, so they get this right.

You can browse ours, the SongTools rhyming dictionary, which has pages for 1,500 common English words, or type any word into the free Rhyme Finder, which looks up about 55,000 words as you type.

The Kinds of Rhymes You Will See

Most rhyming dictionaries sort their results into a few groups:

• Perfect rhymes. Everything from the last stressed vowel to the end sounds the same. "Heart" and "start." "Time" and "rhyme."
• Near rhymes, also called slant rhymes. The vowel matches but a consonant changes. "Time" and "line." "Love" and "enough."
• Multisyllable rhymes. The vowel sounds match across two or more syllables, like "crazy" and "lately." These are the backbone of rap writing, and our guide to multisyllabic rhymes goes deeper.

Near rhymes are the ones many beginners skip, and they are often the most useful. Most modern songs use them all the time, because they sound natural and they give you many more choices.

How Songwriters Actually Use One

Write the idea first, rhyme second. The biggest mistake is opening the dictionary before you know what the line is about. Decide what the line needs to say, write it in plain words, then look for a rhyme that fits that meaning.

Look up the word you want to end on, not the one you are stuck with. If a line has to end on "heart," but nothing good rhymes with it for your song, flip the line around so it ends on a different word. A rhyming dictionary is great for finding which words are easy to rhyme and which are a trap.

Skip the first three results. The most common rhymes are the ones every listener has heard. For "love" a rhyming dictionary will show you "above," "of" and "glove" first. Look at the rhymes for love and you will also find near rhymes like "enough," "rough" and "us," which feel much fresher in a chorus.

Use it to check the vowel on long notes. If a word at the end of your chorus will be held for a whole bar, you want an open, singable vowel. Looking at the rhyme family of a word, like the rhymes for time, quickly shows you which options sing well and which close up.

Let it surprise you. Sometimes a word in the list sparks a whole new image you would never have thought of. Write that down even if it doesn't fit this line.

A Quick Example

Say you are writing a chorus about leaving a small town, and you have this first line (an original example):

*I left the porch light on for you*

You need a second line that rhymes with "you." The obvious choices are "true," "blue" and "through." Fine, but heard a thousand times. Look a bit further down the list and near rhymes like "lose," "use" and "choose" show up. That gives you:

*I left the porch light on for you*

*in case you ever have to choose*

The near rhyme keeps the sound close, and "choose" carries the story (will they come back?) better than "true" would.

Rhyming Dictionary or Thesaurus?

They solve different problems. A thesaurus gives you words with the same meaning, so it helps when you know the sound you want but need a better word. A rhyming dictionary gives you words with the same sound, so it helps when you know the meaning but need it to rhyme. Many songwriters use both together: find a rhyme family that fits, then use a thesaurus to find the word in that family that says exactly what you mean.

Rhyme Schemes in a Nutshell

A rhyme scheme is the pattern of which lines rhyme, written with letters. AABB means lines 1 and 2 rhyme, then 3 and 4. ABAB means lines 1 and 3 rhyme, and 2 and 4. ABCB, where only lines 2 and 4 rhyme, is one of the most common patterns in pop and folk, because it gives you freedom on lines 1 and 3. A rhyming dictionary makes any of these patterns faster to fill.

Is Using a Rhyming Dictionary Cheating?

No. Songwriters have used rhyming dictionaries for well over a century, and many professional writers keep one open while they work. A rhyming dictionary doesn't write anything. It shows you options, and you still choose the words, the meaning, the order and the feeling. That is the songwriting.

What it does do is save you from losing a good idea while you search your memory for a word. Staying in the creative flow is worth a lot.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of It

• Say the words out loud. A rhyme that looks good on screen can sound wrong sung.
• Mix rhyme types. A verse that only uses perfect rhymes can sound childish. Mixing in near rhymes makes it sound more natural.
• Rhyme in the middle of lines too. Internal rhymes make a line flow, especially in rap.
• Keep a list. When you find a great rhyme pair you don't need yet, save it for another song.

When You Need More Than a List

A list of words is great for a single end rhyme. For a whole line, especially in rap, it helps to see rhyming phrases too. The Rhyme Finder has free instant rhymes for any English word, and its AI rap rhymes take a word or a full line and suggest multisyllabic phrases, slant rhymes, internal rhyme ideas and example bars. The button shows the price for the AI part, and the instant rhymes are always free.