rear

The rear is the back end of something, like the rear of a school bus or the members of the marching band who stand at the rear of the parade.

At the other end of something's front is its rear, whether it's a car or a line of people standing outside a theater. You can also use rear informally to mean "bottom" or "hindquarters," as an adjective meaning "toward the back," or as a verb: "The horses started to rear up on their back legs." The verb comes from a Germanic root meaning "to raise," while the noun is rooted in the Latin retro, "behind."

Definitions of rear
  1. noun
    the side of an object that is opposite its front
    “his room was toward the rear of the hotel”
    synonyms: back end, backside
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    Antonyms:
    forepart, front, front end
    the side that is forward or prominent
    types:
    nape, nucha, scruff
    the back side of the neck
    rearward
    direction toward the rear
    type of:
    face, side
    a surface forming part of the outside of an object
  2. noun
    the part of something that is furthest from the normal viewer
    “it was hidden in the rear of the store”
    synonyms: back
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    Antonyms:
    front
    the part of something that is nearest to the normal viewer
    type of:
    place, position
    the particular portion of space occupied by something
  3. noun
    the side that goes last or is not normally seen
    synonyms: back
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    Antonyms:
    front
    the side that is seen or that goes first
    types:
    after part, poop, quarter, stern, tail
    the rear part of a ship
    empennage, tail, tail assembly
    the rear part of an aircraft
    type of:
    side
    an extended outer surface of an object
  4. noun
    the back of a military formation or procession
    “infantrymen were in the rear”
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    Antonyms:
    head
    the front of a military formation or procession
    type of:
    formation
    an arrangement of people or things acting as a unit
  5. noun
    the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
    synonyms: ass, backside, behind, bottom, bum, buns, butt, buttocks, can, derriere, fanny, fundament, hind end, hindquarters, keister, nates, posterior, prat, rear end, rump, seat, stern, tail, tail end, tooshie, tush
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    type of:
    body part
    any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity
  6. adjective
    located in or toward the back or rear
    “the chair's rear legs”
    “the rear door of the plane”
    synonyms: rearward
    back
    related to or located at the back
  7. verb
    rise up
    synonyms: lift, rise
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    types:
    hulk, loom, predominate, tower
    appear very large or occupy a commanding position
    type of:
    appear, look, seem
    give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
  8. verb
    stand up on the hind legs, of quadrupeds
    “The horse reared in terror”
    synonyms: rise up
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    types:
    rear back
    rear backwards on its hind legs
    type of:
    straighten
    get up from a sitting or slouching position
  9. verb
    cause to rise up
    synonyms: erect
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    types:
    pitch, set up
    erect and fasten
    cock up, prick, prick up
    raise
    camp, camp down
    establish or set up a camp
    type of:
    bring up, elevate, get up, lift, raise
    raise from a lower to a higher position
  10. verb
    construct, build, or erect
    synonyms: erect, put up, raise, set up
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    Antonyms:
    dismantle, level, pull down, rase, raze, take down, tear down
    tear down so as to make flat with the ground
    type of:
    build, construct, make
    make by combining materials and parts
  11. verb
    bring up
    synonyms: bring up, nurture, parent, raise
    see moresee less
    types:
    fledge
    feed, care for, and rear young birds for flight
    cradle
    bring up from infancy
    foster
    bring up under fosterage; of children
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