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

“We’ve known for years that the dark fleet posed significant physical risks, because we knew they were operating old ships, they weren’t maintaining them,” said Rear Adm.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 15, 2026

Philippine Navy spokesman Rear Adm Roy Vincent Trinidad said Filipino troops had seized 10 bottles of cyanide from sampan boats allegedly launched from Chinese fishing vessels in February, July and October last year.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026

China has already “dramatically increased its domestic submarine production capacity, accelerating production from less than one nuclear submarine a year to significantly higher rates,” said Rear Adm.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

It was built by the Arctic explorer Rear Admiral Sir John Ross, whose nephew James Clark Ross would later discover the magnetic North Pole.

From BBC • Feb. 5, 2026

When the first Marines were dropped on Guadalcanal back in August of 1942, the naval commander had been Rear Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner.

From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac

Related Words

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