rear

¹

[ reer ]

noun

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.

adjective

1. pertaining to or situated at the rear of something:

   the rear door of a bus.

rear

²

[ reer ]

verb (used with object)

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

verb (used without object)

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 by up ).
3. to rise high or tower aloft:

   The skyscraper rears high over the neighboring buildings.

rear

¹

/ 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. introften foll byup (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

rear

²

/ 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. See buttock
   the buttocks See buttock
5. bring up the rear
   bring up the rear to be at the back in a procession, race, etc
6. in the rear
   in the rear at the back
7. modifier of or in the rear

   the rear side

   the rear legs

Confusables Note

See raise.

Derived Forms

• ˈrearer, noun

Other Words From

• un·reared adjective
• well-reared adjective

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of rear¹

Old English rǣran ; related to Old High German rēren to distribute, Old Norse reisa to raise

Origin of rear²

C17: probably abstracted from rearward or rearguard

Idioms and Phrases

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.

2. rear its (ugly) head. head ( def 85 ).

More idioms and phrases containing rear

• bring up the rear

Synonym Study

See back ¹.

Example Sentences

There are drive units for front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, and an assist all-wheel drive unit, and then a pair of drive units for trucks.

From Ars Technica

Bringing up the rear, the Jaguars are clearly rebuilding after purging pretty much everyone associated with their 2017 AFC title game run over the past couple of years.

From FiveThirtyEight

The beetles start the process by releasing a mix of hot, noxious chemicals from their rear ends.

From Science News For Students

I’m right-handed and carry my knife in my right pocket, so I like my knife clips to mount to the rear of my knife’s handle, on the right side.

From Outside Online

The big difference is that mid-drive motors apply power through the drivetrain, while hub motors do so directly through the wheel, usually the rear.

From Outside Online

What if you just want eyes on the back of your head, you want forward and rear-facing cameras?

From The Daily Beast

George Cook, a middle-age black man from the Bronx, brought up the rear.

From The Daily Beast

Shouts came from the rear of the crowd for “no violence,” shouts that went largely unheeded.

From The Daily Beast

At the rear end of the park is a wall or divider maybe six or seven feet high and about twice that wide.

From The Daily Beast

Kitty staggered around the corner to the rear of her building, trying to make it home.

From The Daily Beast

As the bright glow of a little cascade of sparks pierced the darkness, a voice in our rear called sharply: "Hands up!"

From Project Gutenberg

He went himself to the kitchen, which was a building apart from the cottages and lying to the rear of the house.

From Project Gutenberg

If we had shot 'em without discrimination, the cowards would have got bold, seein' that they weren't safer in rear than in front.

From Project Gutenberg

Going back we had some long range shots with the 15-inch guns at batteries in rear of Achi Baba.

From Project Gutenberg

So Lawrence find Harry rode ahead, the squad some fifteen or twenty paces in the rear, leisurely following.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• breed
• bring up
• care for
• educate