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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

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Etymology

Origin of rev

First recorded in 1900–05; short for revolution

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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

It’s so immediately distinctive: 0 to 60 in five seconds, instant energy, a handful of guitar notes before all of the instruments rev up.

From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026

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

You can almost hear the eagles scream, guitars riff and engines rev.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg has established a Munitions Acceleration Council, which aims to rev production of Patriot interceptors, Tomahawks and cheap hypersonics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

We choose the same track and rev up.

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

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

One rev. of shaft equals 1-5/11 of Front Roll.

From Illustrated Catalogue of Cotton Machinery by Company, Howard & Bullough American Machine

Chap. xi, "The Instinct of Pugnacity," pp. 279-95; "The Instinct of Pugnacity and the Emotion of Anger," pp. 49-61. 4th rev. ed.

From Introduction to the Science of Sociology by Robert Ezra Park

As she watched the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. fight racial discrimination in the South, Bass witnessed whites abandoning the Fairfax District as Black families moved in.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026

The Rev. Patricia Coleman-Burns, a University of Michigan professor emerita who grew up in Detroit and has watched the region’s racial and political coalitions shift for more than 70 years, was a die-hard Stevens supporter.

From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026

In a December 2024 letter to Bass, the Rev. Mark Hopper of the Evangelical Free Church expressed similar concerns and asked the mayor to stop the project.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

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

We got the license and Rev. Brown married us in his private office at the church.

From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride

The chant roars through the sports center as Sen. Dan Sullivan revs up the crowd.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

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

On top of that, the electronics are not working properly, so the auto-blip on the gearbox, which revs the engine automatically to the right level on down change, doesn't work.

From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2026

He kick-starts the bike, revs the throttle, and then they’re ripping down the street, her red hair crackling like a wildfire behind them.

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

Their goalkeeper situation is interesting too, with Japan's Zion Suzuki arriving - he will come in revved up, while Emiliano Martinez looked like he was on his bike until his move to Juventus fell through.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 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

They revved their engines, doing doughnuts in the square and racing short distances.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

Shares have revved 54% higher this year, gaining 25% in April alone, as Solaris has positioned itself to offer on-site energy to data centers for artificial intelligence.

From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026

Then he closed the doors and revved the engine.

From "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan

Residents have long complained about a proliferation of high-powered cars racing down the city’s major thoroughfares, peeling out and doing doughnuts, and drivers revving their engines into the early-morning hours.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

But rather than dialing anything back, the big players are just revving their engines more and more.

From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026

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

Occasionally he'd hear the revving of the engine, but the truck wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

From "Holes" by Louis Sachar

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