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

In other dramatic scenes, protesters were seen holding on to one another as they were dragged to waiting buses -- only for them to later wriggle out from the driver's seat or the rear window.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

They placed fluorescent tracer molecules into a narrow space at the rear of the eye.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

With a cavitating roar, the CrossWave stood up on its tail, throwing Roz backward, her arms wrapped around my neck in a rear naked chokehold.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

The girl was a rear seat passenger in a VW Polo involved in a collision with a Ford Ranger at about 17:30 on Wednesday on the A831 between Drumnadrochit and Cannich, south of Inverness.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 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

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

The thing is, it always rears its ugly side.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025

Real life, in short, rears its ugly head.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2025

It’s a solution to a problem that does not exist in traditional banking but that sometimes rears its head in crypto.

From Slate ● May 21, 2025

The Grootslang rears back, but the crew finally gets the ship’s cannons to turn on.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

The issue has reared its head again this week in the fascinating first Test between South Africa and Australia in Durban, wiping out more than 60 overs across the first three days.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

When her anxiety reared up, Biles was ready.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

Insect larvae reared at higher temperatures will develop faster and reach pupation at a smaller size.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

They were all there, all of them: the twins, poised and alert in the windowsill; Francis, with his back to me; Henry beside him; and Bunny across the table, reared back in his chair.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

In the warm, dry spring a glut of glorious foundresses – new queens – emerged from hibernation to start their nests alone, carrying out all the nest building, egg laying, foraging and brood rearing.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026

John does all that too, on top of his parents blasting all fear out of him while rearing him to expect the universe to be unforgiving.

From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026

But in rearing their head one after another, these events have nonetheless spurred fears about AI's capabilities and where these are headed as developers forge ahead.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Now those fears seem to be rearing their head once more.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026

Aunh-aunh-aunh went the beast, rearing his head toward the sky.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

Related Words

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