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

But flying into Las Vegas in June, the technology journalist saw something he'd never seen before, as worried looking flight crew dashed to the rear of the plane.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

AWD models have an independent electric motor on the rear axle, for on-demand all-wheel drive.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

The ULR in its designation stands for "ultra long distance", a feat made possible by an additional 20,000-litre rear centre fuel tank being fitted to Airbus's A350-1000 model.

From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026

Fernando Alonso set 13th fastest time in the session, 2.475 seconds from the pace set by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, but team-mate Lance Stroll had a rear suspension failure.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

My mother named me after a cow’s rear end.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

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

Still, the Brisbane speech, which rears its sombreroed head into any Google search of the author, marked a shift in the way Shriver engaged with the world.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 31, 2026

Zamrock - with its heady blend of psychedelic rock and traditional Zambian sounds - rears its head on Can't Hold Us, the first single to be released from Sampa's upcoming album.

From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2025

This is the dual state that you lived in, and that you worked in, and that must be called out unflinchingly whenever it rears its head, yet, paradoxically, also now more than ever.

From Slate ● Jul. 9, 2025

I’d make Hassan sit on the Wall of Ailing Corn and fire pebbles with his slingshot at the camels’ rears.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

Swift boxes were placed on the tower of the David Attenborough Building in the city in 2020 and the first pair nested and reared two chicks in 2021.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 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

For now, February’s retail figures stand as a snapshot of an economy that was briefly gathering strength, before war reared its head.

From Barron's ● Apr. 1, 2026

She reared back to lunge at George again, and Owen finally found his voice.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

CJ7 and 022 had successfully bred at the nest site at Careys Secret Garden for three consecutive years, rearing three young in 2023, four in 2024 and a further four in 2025.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 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

Some dairy farms send calves out to third-party calf ranches for rearing.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026

The workers cooperate in the food-gathering, nest-building and rearing the offspring.

From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

Related Words

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