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

Segments 1 through 9 carried segmented appendages, and the rear abdominal limbs had been modified into paddle-like structures.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026

Emergency vehicles then arrived and began dousing the aircraft with water as one set of the rear tires appeared to burn.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

In Tesla's Model 3, for example, passengers must reach into a compartment inside the door pocket and find a release cable to manually open the rear door, according to the company's website.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

The rear passengers have their own 8-inch screen for hotel adjustments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

They would take possession of the enemy trenches, which should be empty by the time they arrived, and move beyond them to open country in the rear.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

The Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District even has its own fish hatchery, where it rears the aptly named Western mosquitofish.

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 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

Gold often reasserts its role as a safe harbor when uncertainty rears its head, drawing investors toward its stability as other assets wobble.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 13, 2026

Real life, in short, rears its ugly head.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2025

It rears on its hind legs: a towering menace, unimaginably huge.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

The Medicare issue has also reared its head in recent times.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

There we met 60-year-old Rameshwar Yadav, a former private-school teacher who now reared buffaloes for a living.

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026

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

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

From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2026

The dragon opened its eyes and reared back, hissing ferociously.

From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville

Bloom said young eagles, like KD1, are more prone to grave mistakes when it comes to rearing young, from egg to eaglet.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

In a late July televised speech President Herzog, who holds a mostly ceremonial role, warned of "violence rearing its head" and reminded citizens that "elections are not a civil war".

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

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

So Sunflower bounced up, down, sideways, and backward, rearing and kicking and chopping, snorting furiously, only Herbie still wouldn’t come unglued.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

Related Words

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