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rear

1 American  
[reer] / rɪər /

noun

  1. the back of something, as distinguished from the front.

    The porch is at the rear of the house.

  2. the space or position behind something.

    The bus driver asked the passengers to move to the rear.

  3. the buttocks; rump.

  4. the hindmost portion of an army, fleet, etc.

adjective

  1. pertaining to or situated at the rear of something.

    the rear door of a bus.

idioms

  1. bring up the rear, to be at the end; follow behind.

    The army retreated, and the fleeing civilian population brought up the rear.
rear 2 American  
[reer] / rɪər /

verb (used with object)

  1. to take care of and support up to maturity.

    to rear a child.
    Synonyms:
    raise, nurture

  2. to breed and raise (livestock).

  3. to raise by building; erect.

    Synonyms:
    construct

  4. to raise to an upright position.

    to rear a ladder.

  5. to lift or hold up; elevate; raise.

    Synonyms:
    lift, lift, hoist

verb (used without object)

  1. to rise on the hind legs, as a horse or other animal.

  2. (of a person) to start up in angry excitement, hot resentment, or the like (usually followed byup ).

  3. to rise high or tower aloft.

    The skyscraper rears high over the neighboring buildings.

idioms

  1. rear its (ugly) head. head.

rear 1 British  
/ rɪə /

noun

  1. the back or hind part

  2. the area or position that lies at the back

    a garden at the rear of the house

  3. the section of a military force or procession farthest from the front

  4. the buttocks See buttock

  5. to be at the back in a procession, race, etc

  6. at the back

  7. (modifier) of or in the rear

    the rear legs

    the rear side
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
rear 2 British  
/ rɪə /

verb

  1. (tr) to care for and educate (children) until maturity; bring up; raise

  2. (tr) to breed (animals) or grow (plants)

  3. (tr) to place or lift (a ladder, etc) upright

  4. (tr) to erect (a monument, building, etc); put up

  5. (esp of horses) to lift the front legs in the air and stand nearly upright

  6. (intr; often foll by up or over) (esp of tall buildings) to rise high; tower

  7. (intr) to start with anger, resentment, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
rear More Idioms  

    More idioms and phrases containing rear

Commonly Confused

See raise.

Related Words

See back 1.

Other Word Forms

  • rearer noun
  • unreared adjective
  • well-reared adjective

Etymology

Origin of rear1

First recorded in 1590–1600; shortened variant of arrear

Origin of rear2

First recorded before 900; Middle English reren, ræren, reare, Old English rǣran “to raise ”; cognate with Gothic -raisjan, Old Norse reisa

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

They both have the single, rear 48-megapixel camera, enough for basic shooting, though I miss the wider-angle shots found on more expensive models.

From The Wall Street Journal

DRS no longer exists because of active aero, which allows both the rear and front wings to adjust angles on the straights to reduce drag and to increase downforce in the corners.

From BBC

Meanwhile, retirement is relegated to the rear view and a rematch Sept. 19 at the Las Vegas Sphere will be streamed live on Netflix.

From Los Angeles Times

At the bottom, there was a ladder propped against the rear wall.

From BBC

To let Rowdy know that I was coming, I reared back and whooped as loud as I could, “Who-o-e-e, tell it to him, boy. Sing him a hound-dog song.”

From Literature

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.