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rear

 - 8 dictionary results

rear

1  [reer]
Use rear in a Sentence
–noun
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.
–adjective
5. pertaining to or situated at the rear of something: the rear door of a bus.
—Idiom
6. bring up the rear, to be at the end; follow behind: The army retreated, and the fleeing civilian population brought up the rear.
Origin:
1590–1600; aph. var. of arrear

Synonyms:
5. See back 1 .

rear

2  [reer]
–verb (used with object)
1. to take care of and support up to maturity: to rear a child.
2. to breed and raise (livestock).
3. to raise by building; erect.
4. to raise to an upright position: to rear a ladder.
5. to lift or hold up; elevate; raise.
–verb (used without object)
6. to rise on the hind legs, as a horse or other animal.
7. (of a person) to start up in angry excitement, hot resentment, or the like (usually fol. by up).
8. to rise high or tower aloft: The skyscraper rears high over the neighboring buildings.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME reren, OE rǣran to raise; c. Goth -raisjan, ON reisa

Synonyms:
1. nurture, raise. 3. construct. 5. loft.

Usage note:
1. See raise.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To rear
rear 1   (rîr)   
n.  

  1. A hind part.

  2. The point or area farthest from the front: the rear of the hall.

  3. The part of a military deployment usually farthest from the fighting front.

  4. Informal The buttocks.

adj.  Of, at, or located in the rear.

[Middle English rere, rear of an army, short for rerewarde, rear guard; see rearward2.]
rear 2   (rîr)   
v.   reared, rear·ing, rears

v.   tr.

  1. To care for (children or a child) during the early stages of life; bring up.

  2. To lift upright; raise.

  3. To build; erect.

  4. To tend (growing plants or animals).

v.   intr.

  1. To rise on the hind legs, as a horse.

  2. To rise high in the air; tower.


[Middle English reren, to raise, from Old English rǣran; see er-1 in Indo-European roots.]
rear'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
rear (end)

  1. n.
    the tail end; the buttocks. (Euphemistic.) : The dog bit her in the rear end.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

rear  (n.)
"hindmost part," c.1600, abstracted from rerewarde "rear guard" (c.1300), from Anglo-Fr. rerewarde, O.Fr. rieregarde, from O.Fr. riere (from L. retro "back, behind") + O.Fr. garde (see guard). Or the word may be an aphetic form of arrear (see arrears). Military sense of "hindmost part" of an army or fleet is recorded from 1606. As a euphemism for "buttocks" it is attested from 1796 (rear end in this sense recorded from 1937). Rear admiral is first attested 1587, apparently so called from ranking "behind" an admiral proper. Rear-view (mirror) is recorded from 1926.

rear  (v.)
O.E. ræran "to raise, build up, set on end," from P.Gmc. *raizijanau "to raise," causative of *risanan "to rise" (see raise). Meaning "bring into being, bring up" (as a child) is recorded from c.1420; that of "raise up on the hind legs" is first recorded 1375.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

rear

In addition to the idioms beginning with rear, also see bring up the rear.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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