rear end

¹ American  

noun

1. the hindmost part of something.

2. Informal. the buttocks; behind.

---

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.

---

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.

---

Etymology

Origin of rear end¹

First recorded in 1865–70

Origin of rear-end²

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

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

Recently, Scooter was given a special tool that makes his life a lot easier – a cart with wheels that attaches to his rear end.

From NewsForKids.net • Jun. 28, 2023

The new C43 has revised aerodynamics, focused on a redesigned rear end.

From BBC • Feb. 7, 2023

Seeing Mole, the skunk calmly waited, then looked at him, aimed his rear end, and let loose a jet stream of musk.

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

Related Words

• posterior