rearview mirror

American

[reer-vyoo] / ˈrɪərˌvju /

noun

a mirror mounted on the side, windshield, or instrument panel of an automobile or other vehicle to provide the driver with a view of the area behind the vehicle.

Etymology

Origin of rearview mirror

First recorded in 1925–30; rear ¹ + view

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Maybe with “Cars” safely in the rearview mirror, and me having just exhausted my one bad pun per story with this sentence, Pixar can return to consistent greatness.

From Salon • Jun. 6, 2026

Yet another remarkable milestone is in the rearview mirror.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 5, 2026

Just as new drivers learn to use a rearview mirror to track other vehicles, "Octopuses can also learn how to use a mirror to infer where things are in the world."

From Science Daily • Jun. 5, 2026

In many modern cars, the rearview mirror is all but useless, anyway.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 25, 2026

Mary Jo, the world’s angriest bus driver, glared at Alex in the rearview mirror.

From "Eleven" by Tom Rogers

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023