HOW TO PRONOUNCE
rebus
/ˈɹibəs/
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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
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What does rebus mean?
noun
- An arrangement of pictures, symbols, or words representing phrases or words, especially as a word puzzle.
- A pictographic component of a compound character (e.g. sinograph) used to hint at the pronunciation of the compound.
- An arrangement of pictures on a coat of arms which suggests the name of the person to whom it belongs.
More meanings (3)
noun
- A type of crossword puzzle in which some squares contain entire words, or symbols representing words, instead of single letters.
verb
- (obsolete, rare) To represent (a phrase or word) as a rebus.
- (obsolete, rare) To apply a rebus to (something).
Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0
IPA pronunciation
/ˈɹibəs/
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.
In the pages of books
See this word in context.
Mr. Brinton thinks the central figure in the tablet of the cross is a rebus for the nature god Quetzalcohuatl.
“Gratum est, quod patria; civem populoque dedisti, Si facis, ut patrix sit idoneus, utilis agris, Utilis et bellorum et pacis rebus agendis.”
More book examples (3)
'Tis a paltry parsonage, with nothing of antiquity but two panes of glass, purloined from Islip's chapel in Westminster Abbey, with that abbot's rebus, an eye and a slip of a tree.
This sceptic’s name was Grantaire, and he was in the habit of signing himself with this rebus: R. Grantaire was a man who took good care not to believe in anything.
Mr. Youatt, qui diu in Hortis Zoologicis (Bestiariis) medicus animalium erat, vir in rebus observandis cautus et sagax, hoc mihi certissime probavit, et curatores ejusdem loci et alii e ministris confirmaverunt.