Rear definitions

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

REAR, n.
1. In a general sense, that which is behind or backwards; appropriately, the part of an army which is behind the other, either when standing on parade or when marching; also, the part of a fleet which is behind the other. It is opposed to front or van. Bring up the rear.
2. The last class; the last in order.
Coins I place in the rear.
In the rear, behind the rest; backward, or in the last class. In this phrase, rear signifies the part or place behind.
REAR, a.
1. Raw; rare; not well roasted or boiled.
2. Early. [A provincial word.]
REAR, v.t.
1. To raise.
Who now shall rear you to the sun, or rank your tribes?
2. To lift after a fall.
In adoration at his feet I fell submiss; he rear'd me.
3. To bring up or to raise to maturity, as young; as, to rear a numerous offspring.
4. To educate; to instruct.
He wants a father to protect his youth, and rear him up to virtue.
5. To exalt; to elevate.
Charity, decent, modest, easy, kind, softens the high, and rears the abject mind.
6. To rouse; to stir up.
And seeks the tusky boar to rear.
7. To raise; to breed; as cattle.
8. To achieve; to obtain.
To rear the steps, to ascend; to move upward.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: located in or toward the back or rear; "the chair's rear legs"; "the rear door of the plane"; "on the rearward side" [syn: rear, rearward] n
1: the back of a military formation or procession; "infantrymen were in the rear" [ant: head]
2: the side of an object that is opposite its front; "his room was toward the rear of the hotel" [syn: rear, backside, back end] [ant: forepart, front, front end]
3: 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" [syn: back, rear] [ant: front]
4: 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?" [syn: 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]
5: the side that goes last or is not normally seen; "he wrote the date on the back of the photograph" [syn: rear, back] [ant: front] v
1: stand up on the hind legs, of quadrupeds; "The horse reared in terror" [syn: rear, rise up]
2: bring up; "raise a family"; "bring up children" [syn: rear, raise, bring up, nurture, parent]
3: rise up; "The building rose before them" [syn: rise, lift, rear]
4: cause to rise up [syn: rear, erect]
5: construct, build, or erect; "Raise a barn" [syn: raise, erect, rear, set up, put up] [ant: dismantle, level, pull down, rase, raze, take down, tear down]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb Etymology: Middle English reren, from Old English r?ran; akin to Old Norse reisa to raise, Old English r?san to rise Date: before 12th century transitive verb 1. to erect by building ; construct 2. to raise upright 3. a. (1) to breed and raise (an animal) for use or market (2) to bring to maturity or self-sufficiency usually through nurturing care <reared five children> <birds rearing their young> b. to cause (as plants) to grow 4. to cause (a horse) to rise up on the hind legs intransitive verb 1. to rise high 2. of a horse to rise up on the hind legs Synonyms: see lift • rearer noun II. noun Etymology: Middle English rere, short for rerewarde rearward Date: 14th century 1. the back part of something: as a. the unit (as of an army) or area farthest from the enemy b. the part of something located opposite its front <the rear of a house> c. buttocks 2. the space or position at the back <moved to the rear> III. adjective Etymology: Middle English rere-, from Anglo-French rere backward, behind, from Latin retro- — more at retro Date: 14th century being at the back <the rear entrance> IV. adverb Date: 1855 toward or from the rear — usually used in combination <a rear-driven car>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. & adj. --n. 1 the back part of anything. 2 the space behind, or position at the back of, anything (a large house with a terrace at the rear). 3 the hindmost part of an army or fleet. 4 colloq. the buttocks. --adj. at the back. Phrases and idioms: bring up the rear come last. in the rear behind; at the back. rear admiral a naval officer ranking below vice admiral. rear commodore a yacht-club officer below vice commodore. rear-lamp (or -light) a usu. red light at the rear of a vehicle. rear sight the sight nearest to the stock on a firearm. rear-view mirror a mirror fixed inside the windscreen of a motor vehicle enabling the driver to see traffic etc. behind. take in the rear Mil. attack from behind. Etymology: prob. f. (in the) REARWARD or REARGUARD 2. v. 1 tr. a bring up and educate (children). b breed and care for (animals). c cultivate (crops). 2 intr. (of a horse etc.) raise itself on its hind legs. 3 tr. a set upright. b build. c hold upwards (rear one's head). 4 intr. extend to a great height. Derivatives: rearer n. Etymology: OE ræran f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rear Rear, a. 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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rear Rear, adv. Early; soon. [Prov. Eng.] Then why does Cuddy leave his cot so rear! --Gay.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rear Rear, n. [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 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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rear Rear, v. i. 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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rear Rear, v. t. To place in the rear; to secure the rear of. [R.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rear Rear, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Reared; p. pr. & vb. n. Rearing.] [AS. r[=ae]ran to raise, rear, elevate, for r[=ae]san, causative of r[=i]san 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) .

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(rears, rearing, reared) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. The rear of something such as a building or vehicle is the back part of it. He settled back in the rear of the taxi. ...a stairway in the rear of the building. = back ? front N-SING: the N, usu N of n • Rear is also an adjective. Manufacturers have been obliged to fit rear seat belts in all new cars. ADJ: ADJ n 2. If you are at the rear of a moving line of people, you are the last person in it. (FORMAL) Musicians played at the front and rear of the procession... = back ? front N-SING: the N, usu N of n 3. Your rear is the part of your body that you sit on. (INFORMAL) I turned away from the phone to see Lewis pat a waitress on her rear. = behind N-COUNT: usu poss N 4. If you rear children, you look after them until they are old enough to look after themselves. She reared sixteen children, six her own and ten her husband's... = bring up, raise VERB: V n 5. If you rear a young animal, you keep and look after it until it is old enough to be used for work or food, or until it can look after itself. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use raise) She spends a lot of time rearing animals. VERB: V n 6. When a horse rears, it moves the front part of its body upwards, so that its front legs are high in the air and it is standing on its back legs. The horse reared and threw off its rider. VERB: V 7. If you say that something such as a building or mountain rears above you, you mean that is very tall and close to you. The exhibition hall reared above me behind a high fence... = loom VERB: V prep/adv 8. If a person or vehicle is bringing up the rear, they are the last person or vehicle in a moving line of them. ...police motorcyclists bringing up the rear of the procession. PHRASE: V inflects 9. If something unpleasant rears its head or rears its ugly head, it becomes visible or noticeable. The threat of strikes reared its head again this summer... PHRASE: V and N inflect

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Hind part, background. 2. Hind part (particularly of an army). II. a. Rare, raw, little cooked. III. v. a. 1. Raise, elevate, lift, raise up. 2. Exalt, elevate, lift up. 3. Bring up, raise, educate, instruct, train, foster, cherish, nurse. 4. Raise, breed. 5. Stir up, rouse. 6. Build up, construct, erect.

Moby Thesaurus

aft, after, aftermost, apprentice, arena, arise, arse, ascend, ass, assemble, back, backdrop, background, backside, backward, behind, boost, bottom, break, break in, breed, bring up, bristle, build, bulk, bulk large, bum, buoy up, buss the clouds, butt, buttocks, care for, carve, cast, cast up, chisel, cock up, come up, compose, compound, concoct, condition, construct, convert, create, crop, croup, crupper, cultivate, culture, curl upwards, develop, devise, discipline, distance, drill, dryfarm, educate, elaborate, elevate, end, erect, escalate, evolve, exceed, exercise, extract, extrude, fabricate, fanny, farm, fashion, fatten, feed, fetch up, field, fit, flounder, form, formulate, foster, frame, fudge together, garden, get up, go up, groom, ground, grow, grow up, harvest, hatch, haunches, heave, heft, heighten, heist, hike, hind, hind end, hind part, hinder, hindermost, hindhand, hindmost, hindquarters, hinterland, hobbyhorse, hoick, hoist, hold up, house-train, housebreak, improve, indite, jerk up, jump up, keep, knock up, last, levitate, lick into shape, lift, lift up, lob, locale, loft, loom, loom large, lurch, machine, make, make heavy weather, make up, manufacture, mature, mill, mine, mise-en-scene, mold, mount, nates, nurse, nurture, outsoar, outstrip, overtop, patch together, perk up, pick up, piece together, pitch, pitch and toss, plunge, posterior, postern, pound, practice, prefabricate, prepare, process, produce, propagate, pump, put in tune, put to school, put together, put up, raise, raise aloft, raise up, ramp, ranch, ready, rear aloft, rear end, rear guard, rear up, rearmost, rearward, reel, refine, rehearse, retral, retrograde, rise, rise above, rise up, rock, roll, rump, run, run up, scend, scene, seat, send to school, set up, setting, shape, sharecrop, sit bolt upright, sit up, sky, smelt, soar, spiral, spire, stage, stage set, stage setting, stand on tiptoe, stand out, stand up, stand upright, stern, stick up, surge, swarm up, sway, sweep up, swing, tag end, tail, tail end, take in hand, take up, theater, throw up, toss, toss and tumble, tower, tower above, train, transcend, tumble, tush, tushy, up, upbuoy, upcast, upend, upgo, upgrow, upheave, uphoist, uphold, uplift, upraise, uprear, upright, uprise, upspin, upstream, upsurge, upswarm, upthrow, upwind, wallow, welter, whomp up, write, yaw