From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishrearrear1 /rɪə $ rɪr/ ●●○ adjective [only before noun] BACK OF somethingat or near the back of something, especially a vehicle OPP front the rear door of the car Knock at the rear entrance.
Examples from the Corpus
rear• The captain and rear admiral, viewing the aircraft-launching operations from the island, are blinded by the flash.• Then he opened the rear door and painfully eased himself out to stand, swaying, alongside the car.• He sat by the rear door of the hearse with a gun in each hand while Jack bled and bled.• Silver-topped flasks conveniently placed inside the rear door of the Rolls-Royce.• Go around back and knock at the rear entrance.• The rear foot is used because it has the forward thrust of the body behind it.• Headroom abounds; rear legroom is good.• A police spokesman said the stolen car was in poor condition with a broken rear passenger window.• A bullet went crashing through the rear window, shattering the glass behind me.rearrear2 ●●○ noun 1 → the rear2 [countable] (also rear end) informalHBH the part of your body which you sit on SYN bottom3 → bring up the rearExamples from the Corpus
rear• A small porch at the rear can be used for other small items, although access is only from inside.• That's all, apart from the domestic quarters at the rear.• They glittered like the backs of scarabs caught in torchlight at the rear of a tomb.• We need that certain dunk, that certain kick in the rear, and he definitely gives it to us every game.• Get up off your rear end!rearrear3 ●○○ verb 1 [transitive]SSTA to look after a person or animal until they are fully grown SYN raise It’s a good place to rear young children. The birds have been successfully reared in captivity.2 [intransitive] (also rear up)UP if an animal rears, it rises up to stand on its back legs → buck The horse reared and threw me off.3 [intransitive] (also rear up) if something rears up, it appears in front of you and often seems to be leaning over you in a threatening way A large rock, almost 200 feet high, reared up in front of them.4 → be reared on something5 → rear its ugly head→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
rear• cattle rearing• She's reared a large family.• They all reared and exploded inside her - touch, smell, taste.• Reports about the costs of rearing children are more than we can take in.• Women who dropped out temporarily to rear children found themselves professionally penalized for the rest of their lives.• Riven hung on to his mount's bridle grimly whilst it bucked and reared in a desperate effort to get away.• Hamsters reared in the laboratory can be made to have female-biased litters by keeping them hungry during adolescence or pregnancy.• Reclamation in 1987 stopped generating power during critical salmon spawning and rearing months.• The Worm turned and reared up at them, and there was something in its sightless head that they knew showed satisfaction.• If the quail have been reared with siblings, both sexes prefer to mate with first cousins.Origin rear1 (1500-1600) Probably from rear- (in words such as rearguard) rear2 Old English ræran 