A perfect rhyme for “have” ends in /æv/, the sound from its stressed vowel to the end of the word. Near rhymes differ by a single sound, which is enough to end a line beside “have” without matching it exactly. Most of the near rhymes end in one of two sounds, /æf/ or /ɑv/.
Spoken aloud, “have” is /hæv/, respelled HAV, one syllable. With a single syllable there is nothing in front of the stress, so a rhyme has to match the word in full.
“Have” has 1 perfect rhyme in common use (nav) and 23 near rhymes.
In This Page
Perfect Rhymes With Have
- Nav
Near Rhymes With Have
The near rhymes for “have” number 23, and most of them end in /æf/, as half and laugh do. After that comes /ɑv/, the ending of improv and suave. Measured against the full /æv/ ending of “have”, most of its near rhymes change, add or leave out one sound.
Near Rhymes For Have Like Half And Laugh
Half, laugh and staff share the ending /æf/, which is /f/ in place of the final /v/ of “have”.
- Half
- Laugh
- Staff
- Behalf
- Photograph
- Autograph
- Calf
- Telegraph
- Paragraph
- Giraffe
- Polygraph
- Graph
- Fail-safe
- Riffraff
- Phonograph
- Gaff
Words Like Improv And Suave That Almost Rhyme With Have
In improv, suave and salve the ending is /ɑv/, which is /ɑ/ in place of the /æ/ of “have”.
- Improv
- Suave
- Salve
Have Rhymes With A Different Vowel: Rev And Lev
Rev and lev are near rhymes on /ɛv/, which is /ɛ/ in place of the /æ/ of “have”.
- Rev
- Lev
Cadaver /ævɚ/ and savvy /ævi/ are looser near rhymes for “have”, each on an ending of its own.
Consonance Rhymes With Have
In consonance, two words have the same stressed vowel and end on consonants of the same kind, and this is the nearest match any single word has to “have”. The endings are listed from the nearest match to the loosest, and 45 words on six endings qualify.
Consonance For Have Like Live And Five
Live, five and alive end in /aɪv/, on the stressed vowel of “have” and a consonant of the same kind.
- Live
- Five
- Alive
- Drive
- Survive
- Arrive
- Dive
- Twenty-five
Consonance For Have Like Leave And Believe
Words ending in /iv/ share the stressed vowel of “have” and end on a related consonant.
- Leave
- Believe
- Eve
- Receive
- Achieve
- Naive
- Sleeve
- Retrieve
Consonance For Have Like Gave And Save
The /eɪv/ ending appears in eight words, each pronounced with the stressed vowel of “have”.
Consonance For Have Like Deserve And Serve
Against “have”, the /ɝv/ ending matches the stressed vowel and differs after it, as in deserve, serve and nerve.
- Deserve
- Serve
- Nerve
- Observe
- Reserve
- Preserve
- Curve
- Conserve
Consonance For Have Like Move And Prove
Move, prove and remove end in /uv/, on the stressed vowel of “have” and a consonant of the same kind.
- Move
- Prove
- Remove
- Approve
- Improve
- Groove
- Disapprove
Consonance For Have Like Of And Love
Words ending in /ʌv/ share the stressed vowel of “have” and end on a related consonant.
- Of
- Love
- Above
- Shove
- Glove
- Dove
Does Half Rhyme With Have
People often ask whether these words rhyme with “have”. Only the sounds from the stressed vowel on count, so two words can share four letters and still not rhyme.
| Word | Rhymes With Have | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Nav | Yes | Perfect rhyme, matching every sound from the stressed vowel on |
| Half | Near rhyme | /f/ in place of the final /v/ of "have", near enough for the end of a line |
| Rev | Near rhyme | /ɛ/ in place of the /æ/ of "have", near enough for the end of a line |
| Of | Consonance only | Same stressed vowel, and the final consonant is of the same kind rather than the same sound |
| Leave | No | Same letters at the end, but said /iv/ |
| Gave | No | Same letters at the end, but said /eɪv/ |
| Halve | No | Pronounced identically, so it is a homophone rather than a rhyme |
The Ending Sound In Have
The rhyme sound of “have” is /æv/, which consists of the stressed vowel /æ/ followed by /v/. One other common word, nav, ends in the same sound.
Words That Look Like Have But Do Not Rhyme
“Have” ends in -ave, as do leave, gave, save and brave, but none of them rhymes with it. Leave ends in /iv/ and gave, save and brave end in /eɪv/, whereas “have” ends in /æv/. These words and “have” have the same closing /v/, so a pairing with any of them is a near rhyme rather than a perfect rhyme.
| Word | Ending Sound | Closing Sound Shared With Have |
|---|---|---|
| Leave | /iv/ | /v/ |
| Gave | /eɪv/ | /v/ |
| Save | /eɪv/ | /v/ |
| Brave | /eɪv/ | /v/ |
| Grave | /eɪv/ | /v/ |
| Wave | /eɪv/ | /v/ |
| Slave | /eɪv/ | /v/ |
| Behave | /eɪv/ | /v/ |
Rhyme Schemes With Have
“Have” fits the common stanza forms through near rhymes and consonance, since it has no perfect rhyme. Lines with the same letter end on the same rhyme sound.
| Scheme | Line endings | How The Lines Pair |
|---|---|---|
| ABAB | Have / half / nav / laugh | Alternating lines, with the near rhymes on the B lines and the perfect pair on the A lines. |
Words Often Listed As Rhymes For Have
“Halve” is pronounced the same as “have”, so it is a homophone rather than a rhyme.
FAQs
Only one common word rhymes perfectly with “have”, and that word is nav. They have the full ending /æv/, a sound few English words share. Writers who need a different word can use near rhymes such as half, laugh and staff.
Counting perfect and near rhymes together, “have” has 24 rhymes in common English. Of these, one is a perfect rhyme with its whole /æv/ ending, and 23 are near rhymes with one sound of it different.
Near rhymes for “have” include behalf, photograph, autograph and calf. Most of them have the stressed vowel /æ/ of “have”, with one sound after it different. Writers choose these looser matches when the meaning of the line comes first.
No, “halve” is not counted as a rhyme for “have”, because the two words are pronounced exactly alike. For a rhyme, the sound before the shared /æv/ ending has to differ.
“Have” ends in the same letters as leave, gave and save, yet none of them rhymes with it. They are pronounced with a different stressed vowel from the /æ/ heard in “have”, so the shared spelling says nothing about the sound.
