rear

¹ American  

[reer] / rɪər /

noun

• rears
  plural

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.

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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)

• rears,
  present (3rd person singular)
• reared,
  past participle,  past
• rearing
  present participle

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, hoist

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verb (used without object)

• rears,
  present (3rd person singular)
• reared,
  past participle,  past
• rearing
  present participle

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

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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

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rear More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing rear

• bring up the rear

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Commonly Confused

See raise.

Synonym Usage

See back ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rearer
  noun
• unreared
  adjective
• well-reared
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• rears
  plural

Participles

• rearing
  present
• reared
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• rear
  simple
• rears
  simple
• have reared
  perfect
• has reared
  perfect
• am rearing
  progressive
• are rearing
  progressive
• is rearing
  progressive
• have been rearing
  perfect progressive
• has been rearing
  perfect progressive

Past

• reared
  simple
• had reared
  perfect
• was rearing
  progressive
• were rearing
  progressive
• had been rearing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will rear
  simple
• will have reared
  perfect
• will be rearing
  progressive
• will have been rearing
  perfect progressive

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

Explanation

The rear is the back end of something, like the rear of a school bus or the members of the marching band who stand at the rear of the parade. At the other end of something's front is its rear, whether it's a car or a line of people standing outside a theater. You can also use rear informally to mean "bottom" or "hindquarters," as an adjective meaning "toward the back," or as a verb: "The horses started to rear up on their back legs." The verb comes from a Germanic root meaning "to raise," while the noun is rooted in the Latin retro, "behind."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rear rears reared rearing

The 37-year-old from Brentwood said smoke entered the rear carriage and led to "panicked" people running in fear.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Investors need to be on their guard against the pumpkin-spice latte effect, which is about to rear its ugly head.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

Trump boarded the presidential jet in full view of video cameras and photographers, with AFP pictures showing two supply containers on hydraulic lifts at the front and rear of the aircraft.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

As smoke, then distressed passengers emerged from the rear of the plane, it because clear what had happened.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

I brought up the rear of our group, tailing Ma, with my elbows angled up and out to prevent her from being jostled as she moved timidly through the crush.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

She rears sheep, and lambing season is just about to get under way.

From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026

But for the most part, Ferraiolo says, young people have a fear of missing out—a phenomenon that rears its head every time an investment soars, as seen in recent years with cryptocurrency and meme stocks.

From Barron's ● Feb. 24, 2026

Still, the Brisbane speech, which rears its sombreroed head into any Google search of the author, marked a shift in the way Shriver engaged with the world.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 31, 2026

Real life, in short, rears its ugly head.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2025

The horse himself is frightened by the rats and we have to be careful when he rears up.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt

Bodexpress was the last to try, in 2019, but he reared leaving the starting gate and dumped his jockey.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026

And this Friday morning, souring relations between Europe and the United States, along with a potentially devastating defence impact, reared its Medusa-like head.

From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026

Patel’s instinct to use force to fix his reputation reared its head again with the girlfriend scandal.

From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2026

For now, February’s retail figures stand as a snapshot of an economy that was briefly gathering strength, before war reared its head.

From Barron's ● Apr. 1, 2026

Peter swept his second crutch over his head and roared again, and Pax snarled and the pale coyote reared back in surprise.

From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker

Now those fears seem to be rearing their head once more.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026

Back in 2019, standing on that Dongguan campus with white marble horses rearing in front of a French neoclassical facade, Huawei’s defiance felt like a genuine statement of strength.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026

Some dairy farms send calves out to third-party calf ranches for rearing.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026

The pair have so far successfully bred at the nest site for three consecutive years, rearing three young in 2023, four in 2024 and a further four in 2025.

From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026

They were clearly in a state of terror, rearing up, their heads thrown back, uttering gurgling cries of fear.

From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks

Related Words

• back
• back door
• back end
• backside
• bottom
• butt
• rear end
• tail