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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

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

His best hope would be to rev the economy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 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

We rev up imaginary motors at the mention of his name.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

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

Authorized translation by L. A. Magnus from the 7th rev. ed. of the Sittengeschichte Roms.

From Introduction to the Science of Sociology by Robert Ezra Park

The strange career of Jim Crow. 2d rev. ed.

From The Negro in the United States; a selected bibliography. Compiled by Dorothy B. Porter by Dorothy B. Porter

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

He enlisted the Rev. Wayne “Chris” Hartmire Jr., an old friend from his UFW days to stage a nonviolent fast to pressure county officials to act on a homeless shelter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

One of his acrylic paintings, featuring two angels soaring above the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. monument, now anchors a larger body of work, “Los Angelitos.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 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

My grandparents, Rev. Dr. James Thomas and Winell Thomas, met when he was an eighteen-year-old ministerial student in a small Jamaican parish and she and her parents were newly arrived parishioners from Cuba.

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore

“We now model May-qtr revs above the high-end of guidance, with bias to the upside on continued pricing tailwinds,” Weathers wrote.

From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 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

It may sound like you’re ripping revs from gear to gear—HHHHM, HHHuuum, Hummmmm.

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

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

The funds enjoyed popularity in 2023 and 2024, when high interest rates revved returns on the loans they make to below-investment-grade companies.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 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

The force said no incidents of concern were noticed but numerous vehicles' engines were revved as officers ran past.

From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026

Then, once I climbed back onto the tractor, I revved the engine, jammed it into gear, and hit the gas.

From "Dead End in Norvelt" by Jack Gantos

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

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

The newspapers were already revving up for the coming baseball season.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers

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