rear
1the back of something, as distinguished from the front: The porch is at the rear of the house.
the space or position behind something: The bus driver asked the passengers to move to the rear.
pertaining to or situated at the rear of something: the rear door of a bus.
Idioms about rear
bring up the rear, to be at the end; follow behind: The army retreated, and the fleeing civilian population brought up the rear.
Origin of rear
1synonym study For rear
Other definitions for rear (2 of 2)
to take care of and support up to maturity: to rear a child.
to breed and raise (livestock).
to rise on the hind legs, as a horse or other animal.
(of a person) to start up in angry excitement, hot resentment, or the like (usually followed by up).
to rise high or tower aloft: The skyscraper rears high over the neighboring buildings.
Origin of rear
2confusables note For rear
Other words for rear
Other words from rear
- un·reared, adjective
- well-reared, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use rear in a sentence
Coats that go over your rear and down to your mid-thigh, like The North Face’s Arctic Insulated Parka, cover enough body without making you shorten your stride.
The hottest gifts to buy for the friend who’s always cold | Sandra Gutierrez G. | November 20, 2020 | Popular-ScienceSince the spring, riders have been required to board through rear doors, bypassing fareboxes, to better protect drivers from exposure to the virus.
Metro board approves budget cuts, buyouts as pandemic dents agency’s budget | Justin George | November 19, 2020 | Washington PostSlowly moving your arms and legs between reps strengthens the glutes and rear shoulder muscles, which help lessen the load on your lower back.
The employee fled to the rear of the establishment and told a co-worker to call the police.
Authorities in Virginia are looking for a woman who was driving a car that crashed into the rear of a Virginia State Police patrol vehicle along an Interstate 66 work zone late Friday.
Authorities looking for woman who fled scene after her car hit a Virginia State Police vehicle on I-66 | Luz Lazo | November 8, 2020 | Washington Post
But Kate has clung to her middle-class roots and middle-class ideas of child-rearing defiantly.
The worst part is that Focus on the Family is restrained compared to other Christian conservative child-rearing advice.
The Adrian Peterson Beating and the Christian Right's Love of Corporal Punishment | Amanda Marcotte | September 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe daily grind of child-rearing and the stress of sharing responsibility seem to be a big part of it.
Not uncommon, this type of pet-rearing situation thrives in an age of Internet that drives niche commerce.
The Weird Underground World of Urban Animal Husbandry | Dale Eisinger | May 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhat about the ghetto residents who exhibit “mainstream” values on working, education, and child-rearing?
How Much Does 'Culture' Matter for 'Inner-City' Poverty? | Jamelle Bouie | March 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWithin were the park and the deer, and the mansion rearing its brilliant columns amidst the redundant groves of a Spanish autumn.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterThe care shown in rearing insures a perfect straightness of stem, and an equable diameter of about an inch or an inch and a half.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.Thanks particularly to the efforts of the Plunket Society, great help is available in the rearing and management of babies.
Report of the Special Committee on Moral Delinquency in Children and Adolescents | Oswald Chettle Mazengarb et al.Rearing is less common than shying, but more dangerous from the risk of pulling the horse over backward.
Horsemanship for Women | Theodore Hoe MeadA small snake will always respond to the challenge of a much larger one, this challenge taking the form of rearing up and hissing.
The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont | Louis de Rougemont
British Dictionary definitions for rear (1 of 2)
/ (rɪə) /
the back or hind part
the area or position that lies at the back: a garden at the rear of the house
the section of a military force or procession farthest from the front
the buttocks: See buttock
bring up the rear to be at the back in a procession, race, etc
in the rear at the back
(modifier) of or in the rear: the rear legs; the rear side
Origin of rear
1British Dictionary definitions for rear (2 of 2)
/ (rɪə) /
(tr) to care for and educate (children) until maturity; bring up; raise
(tr) to breed (animals) or grow (plants)
(tr) to place or lift (a ladder, etc) upright
(tr) to erect (a monument, building, etc); put up
(intr often foll by up) (esp of horses) to lift the front legs in the air and stand nearly upright
(intr ; often foll by up or over) (esp of tall buildings) to rise high; tower
(intr) to start with anger, resentment, etc
Origin of rear
2Derived forms of rear
- rearer, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with rear
In addition to the idioms beginning with rear
- rear end
- rear its ugly head
also see:
- bring up the rear
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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