REAR

rear, back

(noun) the side that goes last or is not normally seen; “he wrote the date on the back of the photograph”

buttocks, nates, arse, butt, backside, bum, buns, can, fundament, hindquarters, hind end, keister, posterior, prat, rear, rear end, rump, stern, seat, tail, tail end, tooshie, tush, bottom, behind, derriere, fanny, ass

(noun) the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on; “he deserves a good kick in the butt”; “are you going to sit on your fanny and do nothing?”

rear

(noun) the back of a military formation or procession; “infantrymen were in the rear”

back, rear

(noun) the part of something that is furthest from the normal viewer; “he stood at the back of the stage”; “it was hidden in the rear of the store”

rear, backside, back end

(noun) the side of an object that is opposite its front; “his room was toward the rear of the hotel”

raise, erect, rear, set up, put up

(verb) construct, build, or erect; “Raise a barn”

rear, rise up

(verb) stand up on the hind legs, of quadrupeds; “The horse reared in terror”

rear, erect

(verb) cause to rise up

rear, raise, bring up, nurture, parent

(verb) look after a child until it is an adult; “raise a family”; “bring up children”

rise, lift, rear

(verb) rise up; “The building rose before them”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Verb

rear (third-person singular simple present rears, present participle rearing, simple past and past participle reared)

(transitive) To bring up to maturity, as offspring; to educate; to instruct; to foster.

(transitive, said of people towards animals) To breed and raise.

(intransitive) To rise up on the hind legs

(intransitive, usually with "up") To get angry.

(intransitive) To rise high above, tower above.

(transitive, literary) To raise physically or metaphorically; to lift up; to cause to rise, to elevate.

(transitive, rare) To construct by building; to set up

(transitive, rare) To raise spiritually; to lift up; to elevate morally.

(transitive, obsolete) To lift and take up.

(transitive, obsolete) To rouse; to strip up.

Usage notes

• It is standard US English to raise children, and this usage has become common in all kinds of English since the 1700s. Until fairly recently, however, US teachers taught the traditional rule that one should raise crops and animals, but rear children, despite the fact that this contradicted general usage. It is therefore not surprising that some people still prefer to rear children and that this is considered correct but formal in US English. It is widespread in UK English and not considered formal.

• It is generally considered incorrect to rear crops or (adult) animals in US English, but this expression is common in UK English.

Synonyms

• (rise up on the hind legs): prance

Etymology 2

Verb

rear (third-person singular simple present rears, present participle rearing, simple past and past participle reared)

(transitive) To move; stir.

(transitive, of geese) To carve.

(regional, obsolete) To revive, bring to life, quicken. (only in the phrase, to rear to life)

Usage notes

• In the sense "bring to life", the more common variant of to rear to life is to raise to life. “I pray you, Declan, servant of God, that in the name of Christ you would raise to life for me the seven hostages whom I held in bondage from the chieftains of Munster." (Life of Saint Declan of Ardmore By Saint Declan of Ardmore, Aeterna Press, 2015.)

Etymology 3

Adjective

rear (comparative rearer or more rear, superlative rearest or most rear)

(now chiefly dialectal) (of eggs) Underdone; nearly raw.

(chiefly US) (of meats) Rare.

Etymology 4

Adjective

rear (not comparable)

Being behind, or in the hindmost part; hindmost

Antonyms

• front

Adverb

rear (comparative more rear, superlative most rear)

(British, dialect) early; soon

Noun

rear (plural rears)

The back or hindmost part; that which is behind, or last on order; - opposed to front.

(military) Specifically, the part of an army or fleet which comes last, or is stationed behind the rest.

(anatomy) The buttocks, a creature's bottom

Synonyms

• (buttocks): rear end

Verb

rear (third-person singular simple present rears, present participle rearing, simple past and past participle reared)

To place in the rear; to secure the rear of.

(transitive, vulgar, British) To sodomize (perform anal sex)

Anagrams

• arrĂ©, rare

Source: Wiktionary


Rear, adv.

Definition: Early; soon. [Prov. Eng.] Then why does Cuddy leave his cot so rear! Gay.

Rear, n. Etym: [OF. riere behind, backward, fr. L. retro. Cf. Arrear.]

1. The back or hindmost part; that which is behind, or last on order;

– opposed to Ant: front. Nipped with the lagging rear of winter's frost. Milton.

2. Specifically, the part of an army or fleet which comes last, or is stationed behind the rest. When the fierce foe hung on our broken rear. Milton.

Rear, a.

Definition: Being behind, or in the hindmost part; hindmost; as, the rear rank of a company. Rear admiral, an officer in the navy, next in rank below a vice admiral, and above a commodore. See Admiral.

– Rear front (Mil.), the rear rank of a body of troops when faced about and standing in that position.

– Rear guard (Mil.), the division of an army that marches in the rear of the main body to protect it; -- used also figuratively.

– Rear line (Mil.), the line in the rear of an army.

– Rear rank (Mil.), the rank or line of a body of troops which is in the rear, or last in order.

– Rear sight (Firearms), the sight nearest the breech.

– To bring up the rear, to come last or behind.

Rear, v. t.

Definition: To place in the rear; to secure the rear of. [R.]

Rear, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Reared; p. pr. & vb. n. Rearing.] Etym: [AS. ræran to raise, rear, elevate, for ræsan, causative of risan to rise. See Rise, and cf. Raise.]

1. To raise; to lift up; to cause to rise, become erect, etc.; to elevate; as, to rear a monolith. In adoration at his feet I fell Submiss; he reared me. Milton. It reareth our hearts from vain thoughts. Barrow. Mine [shall be] the first hand to rear her banner. Ld. Lytton.

2. To erect by building; to set up; to construct; as, to rear defenses or houses; to rear one government on the ruins of another. One reared a font of stone. Tennyson.

3. To lift and take up. [Obs. or R.] And having her from Trompart lightly reared, Upon his set the lovely load. Spenser.

4. To bring up to maturity, as young; to educate; to instruct; to foster; as, to rear offspring. He wants a father to protect his youth, And rear him up to virtue. Southern.

5. To breed and raise; as, to rear cattle.

6. To rouse; to strip up. [Obs.] And seeks the tusky boar to rear. Dryden.

Syn.

– To lift; elevate; erect; raise, build; establish. See the Note under Raise, 3 (c).

Rear, v. i.

Definition: To rise up on the hind legs, as a horse; to become erect. Rearing bit, a bit designed to prevent a horse from lifting his head when rearing. Knight.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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