reverse

American  

[ri-vurs] / rɪˈvɜrs /

adjective

1. opposite or contrary in position, direction, order, or character.

   an impression reverse to what was intended; in reverse sequence.

   Synonyms:

   converse

   Antonyms:

   same

2. with the back or rear part toward the observer.

   the reverse side of a fabric.

3. pertaining to or producing movement in a mechanism opposite to that made under ordinary running conditions.

   a reverse gear; a reverse turbine.

4. acting in a manner opposite or contrary to that which is usual, as an appliance or apparatus.

5. noting or pertaining to an image like that seen in a mirror; backward; reversed.

6. noting or pertaining to printed matter in which what is normally white, as the page of a book, appears as black, and vice versa.

---

noun

reverses plural

1. the opposite or contrary of something.

   Synonyms:

   counterpart, converse

2. the back or rear of anything.

3. Numismatics.

   1. the side of a coin, medal, etc., that does not bear the principal design (opposed to obverse).

   2. the side of an ancient coin that was struck by the upper die.

4. an adverse change of fortune; a misfortune, check, or defeat.

   to meet with an unexpected reverse.

   Synonyms:

   affliction, misadventure, mishap

5. Machinery.

   1. the condition of being reversed.

      to throw an engine into reverse.

   2. a reversing mechanism.

6. Football. a play on offense in which one back running laterally hands the ball to another back who is running in the opposite direction and who then makes either an end run or a cutback.

7. Bridge. reverse bid.

8. Printing. printed matter in which areas that normally appear as white are printed in black, and vice versa.

verb (used with object)

reverses, present (3rd person singular) reversed, past participle, past reversing present participle

1. to turn in an opposite position; transpose.

   The printer accidently reversed two chapters of the book.

2. to turn in the opposite direction; send on the opposite course.

3. to turn inside out or upside down.

4. to change the direction of running of (a mechanism).

5. to cause (a mechanism) to run in a direction opposite to that in which it commonly runs.

6. to revoke or annul (a decree, judgment, etc.).

   to reverse a verdict.

   Synonyms:

   overthrow, rescind, countermand, veto, repeal

7. to alter to the opposite in character or tendency; change completely.

8. to turn in the opposite order.

   to reverse the process of evolution.

9. Printing. to print as a reverse.

verb (used without object)

reverses, present (3rd person singular) reversed, past participle, past reversing present participle

1. to shift into reverse gear.

   The driver drove forward, then reversed.

2. (of a mechanism) to be reversed.

3. to turn or move in the opposite or contrary direction, as in dancing.

4. Bridge. to make a reverse bid.

reverse British  

/ rɪˈvɜːs /

verb

1. to turn or set in an opposite direction, order, or position

2. to change into something different or contrary; alter completely

   reverse one's policy

3. (also intr) to move or cause to move backwards or in an opposite direction

   to reverse a car

4. to run (machinery, etc) in the opposite direction to normal

5. to turn inside out

6. law to revoke or set aside (a judgment, decree, etc); annul

7. (often foll by out) to print from plates so made that white lettering or design of (a page, text, display, etc) appears on a black or coloured background

8. military to turn one's arms upside down, esp as a token of mourning

9. to make a telephone call at the recipient's expense

---

noun

1. the opposite or contrary of something

2. the back or rear side of something

3. a change to an opposite position, state, or direction

4. a change for the worse; setback or defeat

5. 1. the mechanism or gears by which machinery, a vehicle, etc, can be made to reverse its direction

   2. ( as modifier )

      reverse gear

6. the side of a coin bearing a secondary design Compare obverse

7. 1. printed matter in which normally black or coloured areas, esp lettering, appear white, and vice versa

   2. ( as modifier )

      reverse plates

8. in an opposite or backward direction

9. emphatically not; not at all

   he was the reverse of polite when I called

adjective

1. opposite or contrary in direction, position, order, nature, etc; turned backwards

2. back to front; inverted

3. operating or moving in a manner contrary to that which is usual

4. denoting or relating to a mirror image

Synonym Usage

See opposite. Reverse, invert agree in meaning to change into a contrary position, order, or relation. To reverse is to place or move something so that it is facing in the opposite direction from the one faced previously: to reverse from right to left; to reverse a decision. To invert is to turn upside down: to invert a stamp in printing; to invert a bowl over a plate.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prereverse
  noun
• reverser
  noun
• half-reversed
  adjective
• nonreverse
  adjective
• nonreversed
  adjective
• nonreversing
  adjective
• unreversed
  adjective
• reversedly
  adverb
• reversely
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• reverses
  plural

Participles

• reversing
  present
• reversed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• reverse
  simple
• reverses
  simple
• have reversed
  perfect
• has reversed
  perfect
• am reversing
  progressive
• are reversing
  progressive
• is reversing
  progressive
• have been reversing
  perfect progressive
• has been reversing
  perfect progressive

Past

• reversed
  simple
• had reversed
  perfect
• was reversing
  progressive
• were reversing
  progressive
• had been reversing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will reverse
  simple
• will have reversed
  perfect
• will be reversing
  progressive
• will have been reversing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of reverse

First recorded in 1275–1325; (for the noun) Middle English revers, from Old French, from Latin reversus “turned back,” past participle of revertere “to turn back” ( see revert); (for the verb) Middle English reversen, from Old French reverser, from Late Latin reversāre “to turn around,” literally, “to turn back repeatedly,” from revertere

Explanation

To go in reverse, you back up. If you reverse your position, you suddenly take the opposite side of the argument. If you reverse your fortunes, your bad luck turns good, or your good luck turns bad. Oops. The Latin word revertere means “turn back.” To reverse means to turn back, take the opposite direction, go the other way. Many things can be reversed: you can reverse a decision, you can reverse a car — by putting it in the gear called "reverse." You can reverse a political argument, a promotion, even some surgical procedures, but you can never reverse the steady progress of time, no matter how many Botox injections you get.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

reverse reverses reversed reversing

But regardless, he said, Democrats would have to find a way to "sew these two very large groups back together" if they wanted to reverse recent election losses.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

Even if a future leader wanted to reverse Trump's duties, revenue considerations will complicate the situation, Lipsky predicts.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

If this ice begins retreating quickly, the process can become difficult to stop or reverse.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026

Or in reverse, $100,000 now has the value of about $50,000 in the late ’90s.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

“But hear me now. You could reverse this. Send it back.”

From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi

"An opt-out scheme just reverses that default and makes us go through hoops to preserve it."

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

The move reverses Roberts’ purchase of NBCUniversal in 2011 — a bold bet that created a behemoth with popular programming and cable pipes to pump that content into consumer homes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

Princeton reverses its choice to divest from fossil fuels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

This means retail investors have benefited from the semiconductor rally — however, they could see outsize losses if the trend reverses.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 5, 2026

But, unlike Brent, he reverses course, stunning at warp speed—lunging, legs, arms, foil extending, then retreating.

From "Black Brother, Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Rapamycin reversed abnormal patterns of gene expression involving autism, epilepsy, and ion channel function.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026

However, London, Paris and Frankfurt reversed early losses to push into positive territory in the morning.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

In 2023 and 2024, UC’s faculty admissions board reversed that ruling, finding that three of the most popular data science classes were too light on algebra to count.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

In exchange, it reversed its decision to remove the GST.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

How we loved him then, when his frown wrinkles reversed their field and became a wide grin.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Oil prices took a dive into the red in early trading Monday, reversing an earlier sharp rally, after a report that a 10-day cease-fire proposal was made triggered a wave of selling.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026

—Yields on eurozone government bonds and U.K. government bonds fell, reversing some of their steep rise the previous day as oil prices turn lower.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

Rather than risk it, he stopped, put on his hazard lights and spent nearly an hour reversing half a mile before finding another route.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

But the effort collapsed on Tuesday, with the council reversing course and sending the proposal to a committee for more study.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026

Now, all these years later, my sister and I were reversing that journey and heading from Ohio to Texas.

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles

Related Words

• alter
• annul
• dismantle
• invalidate
• lift
• modify
• nullify
• overrule
• overturn
• quash
• repeal
• rescind
• revoke
• set aside
• undo