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• rear end
  rear end

  noun

  the hindmost part of something.
• rear-end
  rear-end

  verb (used with object)

  to drive a vehicle or other conveyance so as to strike the back end of (another vehicle).

rear end

¹ American  

noun

rear ends plural

1. the hindmost part of something.

2. Informal. the buttocks; behind.

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rear-end ² American  

[reer-end] / ˈrɪərˈɛnd /

verb (used with object)

1. to drive a vehicle or other conveyance so as to strike the back end of (another vehicle).

   My car was rear-ended by another driver on the highway.

2. (of a moving vehicle or other conveyance) to strike the back end of (another vehicle or object).

   A freight train rear-ended the commuter train this morning.

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rear end Idioms  

1. The back part of anything, especially a vehicle, as in There's a large dent in the rear end of the car .

2. The buttocks, as in I'm afraid these pants don't fit my rear end . The noun rear alone has been used in both these senses, the first since the late 1700s and the second since the mid-1900s. The addition of end occurred in the first half of the 1900s.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• rear ends
  plural

Etymology

Origin of rear end¹

First recorded in 1865–70

Origin of rear-end²

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rear end rear-end

Ferrari describes its new electric vehicle as a "glass house", with headlights that are invisible when switched off, and a rear end reminiscent of famous models such as the 360 Modena.

From Barron's ● May 26, 2026

A hermit crab will inspect a shell with care, running antennae and claws over its contours, before delicately lowering its rear end into the aperture.

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2025

A fourth person would work the two back legs and another puppeteer would work the rear end.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2025

The brightest region within the nebula is called IC 2948, where some people see the chicken's head and others its rear end.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 21, 2023

I try keeping my back to the wind, but my rear end freezes.

From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson

Dashcam video of the incident showed traffic slowing down far ahead of the white Jeep as it stopped abruptly in front of the semi, causing the truck to rear-end the vehicle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026

Related: ‘I didn’t ask a man to rear-end my car’: Social Security is replacing my disability benefits.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 12, 2026

In July it was heavily damaged in a rear-end collision.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025

Giuliani, 81, was hospitalized in New Hampshire after a rear-end collision.

From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2025

Before we can make it to the guest room, Grandma freezes in the hall and I almost rear-end her.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

Related Words

• posterior