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• rev
  rev

  noun

  a revolution (in an engine or the like).
• rev.
  rev.

  abbreviation

  revenue.
• Rev.
  Rev.

  abbreviation

  Revelation.

rev

¹ American  

[rev] / rɛv /

noun

• revs
  plural

1. a revolution (in an engine or the like).

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verb (used with object)

revved, revving

1. to accelerate sharply the speed of (an engine or the like) (often followed byup ).

verb (used without object)

revved, revving

1. (of an engine) to accelerate; become revved (often followed byup ).

verb phrase

1. rev up to increase in strength or accelerate sharply.

   The economy is beginning to rev up.

rev. ² American  

abbreviation

1. revenue.

2. reverse.

3. review.

4. reviewed.

5. revise; revised.

6. revision.

7. revolution.

8. revolving.

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Rev. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. Bible. Revelation.

2. Reverend.

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rev. ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. revenue

2. reverse(d)

3. review

4. revise(d)

5. revision

6. revolution

7. revolving

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Rev. ² British  

abbreviation

1. Bible Revelation

2. Reverend

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rev ³ British  

/ rɛv /

noun

1. revolution per minute

   the engine was doing 5000 revs

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verb

1. (often foll by up) to increase the speed of revolution of (an engine)

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• revs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of rev

First recorded in 1900–05; short for revolution

Explanation

Rev your engine at a stoplight if you want to race the car next to you. On second thought, don’t — to rev is to crank the engine without going anywhere. Also, a rev is one complete rotation of a motor. Rev, as a verb or a noun, is a shortened form of revolution. As a noun, it’s a rotation of the motor or the number of rotations in a minute. The word has been around since the early 20th century, following the invention of the automobile. Rev can be used for any internal combustion engine, but it's most often used for the zooming sound of a car engine. Rev and revolution come from the Late Latin revolutionem, "a revolving."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rev rev. Rev. revs revved revving

But as the removal vans rev up again in Downing Street, Burnham's arrival gives Labour a "second chance to make a first impression", according to one minister.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

I’d wager that most people seldom sit by themselves and ponder what makes them tick, what causes their engines to rev, or why they like that one specific thing.

From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026

But the signals so far suggest an IRS that’s scaling back high-end enforcement just as it was starting to rev it up.

From MarketWatch ● May 20, 2026

Mr. Lai has proposed to rev Taiwan’s defense spending to about 3.3% of the economy, with a nearly $40 billion infusion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

Sometimes he’d wander outside to look at his car, rev the engine, play with the mirrors.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

In Anarchism and Other Essays, 3rd rev. ed.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022

Valuable as a short introduction to the subject is Sean Wilentz, “Society, Politics, and the Market Revolution, 1815–1848,” in The New American History, rev. and exp. ed., ed.

From Slate ● Jul. 9, 2015

A journalist still lingers in the twilight zone, along with the trained nurse, the embalmer, the rev. clergy and the great majority of engineers.

From Time Magazine Archive

I must confess that there were certain passages in the rev. gentleman’s discourse which I could not fairly understand; but, perhaps that was owing a great deal to my attention being centred elsewhere.

From Adventures and Recollections by Bill o'th' Hoylus End

Through the Yang-tse gorges; or, Trade and travel in Western China. 3d and rev. ed.

From Select List of Books ... Relating to the Far East by Appleton Prentiss Clark Griffin

After running for the nomination in 1984 and 1988, the Rev. Jesse Jackson sought to be a kingmaker in ’92.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Sullivan over a fund-raising ad for the Rev. Martin Luther King that had appeared in the New York Times.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

“The couples pledged to create families centered on God,” said Rev. Demian Dunkley, president of the church’s U.S.A. chapter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026

But Detroit was in flames following the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and they stayed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026

Rev. J. E. Poindexter, Secretary I walked to the same shoeshine stand in the French Quarter that I had been visiting as a white man.

From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin

Alternative producers should curtail supply to prevent a glut as the Gulf revs back up.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

Styles’ submission to the beat on “Kiss All the Time” will be difficult to maintain as the pop-star machinery revs inevitably to life behind it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2026

Getting around the inevitable low-speed turbo lag required keeping the revs up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026

What only seems familiar: Powering out of a slow corner with the pedal pinned, the car pulling its guts out, stretching for the redline, revs quavering at the upshifts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026

He revs the engine, A cloud of blue smoke From the tailpipe, And cuts it off.

From "Neighborhood Odes" by Gary Soto

Showing off one truck, Kuniskis pumped his fist and revved the engine before a crowd of enthusiasts and content creators.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Alibaba on Wednesday saw its best single share-price gain in 10 months, as the broader Chinese tech sector revved higher after missing the rally propelling U.S.,

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

Occasionally, its operators revved its engine until the tires burned out, which sent gouts of flame and plumes of foul white smoke into the scorching air to block our view of the Washington Monument.

From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026

DJ Maia Beth, from Washington, was first on the main stage, getting the audience revved up with a set of "happy anthems" including The Killers' Somebody Told Me and Rihanna's We Found Love.

From BBC ● May 24, 2026

But then I saw the tracks all decorated with colorful pennant banners and a motor revved, nearly matching the speed of my heartbeat.

From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry

He posted a video of himself revving the engine of a brand new Ram pickup truck.

From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026

Even more critically, it is the company’s first test of whether enthusiasts will accept a car carrying the brand name but not the revving, powerful, combustion engine that has defined its legacy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026

Fleshwater’s crystalline guitar leads and tidal currents of noise hit so much harder for the revving percussion, which moves with the dexterity of metal and hardcore.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026

There are four ways of recovering energy: under braking; revving the engine in corners; lifting off early before a corner and harvesting while still on full throttle.

From BBC ● Feb. 11, 2026

The Berg sprang to life— lights flickering overhead and engines and machinery revving.

From "The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin)" by James Dashner

Related Words

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