rear end

¹

noun

1. the hindmost part of something.

2. Informal.,  the buttocks; behind.

rear-end

²

[reer-end]

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of rear end¹

First recorded in 1865–70

Origin of rear end²

First recorded in 1975–80

Idioms and Phrases

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

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.

Example Sentences

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

Read more on Los Angeles Times

This is why it's so important for liberals to respond with two raised middle fingers and an invitation to the culture warriors to kiss our collective rear ends.

Read more on Salon

We can all join hands and tell the guardians of toxic masculinity to kiss our collective rear end.

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The force of that impact flipped the rear end of the vehicle straight into the air as it immediately caught fire.

Read more on Seattle Times

She also alleges that he urged her to stick a finger up his rear end as they were filming an “extra scene.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• posterior