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rear
1[ reer ]
noun
- the back of something, as distinguished from the front:
The porch is at the rear of the house.
- the space or position behind something:
The bus driver asked the passengers to move to the rear.
- the hindmost portion of an army, fleet, etc.
adjective
- pertaining to or situated at the rear of something:
the rear door of a bus.
rear
2[ reer ]
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
- to rise on the hind legs, as a horse or other animal.
- (of a person) to start up in angry excitement, hot resentment, or the like (usually followed by up ).
- to rise high or tower aloft:
The skyscraper rears high over the neighboring buildings.
rear
1/ rɪə /
noun
- the back or hind part
- the area or position that lies at the back
a garden at the rear of the house
- the section of a military force or procession farthest from the front
- the buttocks See buttock
- bring up the rearto be at the back in a procession, race, etc
- in the rearat the back
- modifier of or in the rear
the rear legs
the rear side
rear
2/ rɪə /
verb
- tr to care for and educate (children) until maturity; bring up; raise
- tr to breed (animals) or grow (plants)
- tr to place or lift (a ladder, etc) upright
- tr to erect (a monument, building, etc); put up
- introften foll byup (esp of horses) to lift the front legs in the air and stand nearly upright
- intr; often foll by up or over (esp of tall buildings) to rise high; tower
- intr to start with anger, resentment, etc
Confusables Note
Derived Forms
- ˈrearer, noun
Other Words From
- un·reared adjective
- well-reared adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of rear1
Word History and Origins
Origin of rear1
Origin of rear2
Idioms and Phrases
- bring up the rear, to be at the end; follow behind:
The army retreated, and the fleeing civilian population brought up the rear.
- rear its (ugly) head. head ( def 85 ).
More idioms and phrases containing rear
- bring up the rear
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
Some desert conservationists are critical of the efforts, saying the captive rearing program is essentially a smokescreen that distracts from the pressing need to conserve critical habitat.
The boy then climbed into the police vehicle but left his foot out, preventing the rear door from closing, the court heard.
But by the time it reached their bowls, much had been siphoned off by rear units, and the remainder had been cut with sand.
She steadies herself, with one hand grasping the back of an elaborate carved and upholstered chair at the left, while a tabletop clock at the rear on the opposite side ticks away.
To screen for diabetic retinopathy health professionals take pictures of the rear interior wall of the eye, known as the fundus.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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