re|apprais|al /riː əpre I z ə l/ (reappraisals ) N‑VAR If there is a reappraisal of something such as an idea or plan, people think about the idea carefully and decide whether they want to change it. [FORMAL ] □ [+ of ] Britain's worst jail riot will force a fundamental reappraisal of prison policy.
re|appraise /riː əpre I z/ (reappraises , reappraising , reappraised ) VERB If you reappraise something such as an idea or a plan, you think carefully about it and decide whether it needs to be changed. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] It did not persuade them to abandon the war but it did force them to reappraise their strategy.
rear ◆◇◇ /r I ə r / (rears , rearing , reared )
1 N‑SING The rear of something such as a building or vehicle is the back part of it. □ [+ of ] He settled back in the rear of the taxi. □ [+ of ] …a stairway in the rear of the building. ● ADJ [ADJ n] Rear is also an adjective. □ Manufacturers have been obliged to fit rear seat belts in all new cars.
2 N‑SING If you are at the rear of a moving line of people, you are the last person in it. [FORMAL ] □ [+ of ] Musicians played at the front and rear of the procession.
3 N‑COUNT [usu poss N ] Your rear is the part of your body that you sit on. [INFORMAL ] □ He plans to have a dragon tattooed on his rear.
4 VERB If you rear children, you look after them until they are old enough to look after themselves. □ [V n] She reared six children.
5 VERB 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 ] □ [V n] She spends a lot of time rearing animals. in AM, usually use raise 6 VERB 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. □ [V ] The horse reared and threw off its rider.
7 VERB If you say that something such as a building or mountain rears above you, you mean that is very tall and close to you. □ [V prep/adv] The exhibition hall reared above me behind a high fence.
8 PHRASE If a person or vehicle is bringing up the rear , they are the last person or vehicle in a moving line of them. □ [+ of ] …police motorcyclists bringing up the rear of the procession.
9 PHRASE 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.
rea r ad|mi|ral (Rear Admirals ) N‑COUNT ; N‑TITLE A rear admiral is a senior officer in the navy. □ …Rear Admiral Douglas Cap, commander of the USS America.
rea r-e nd (rear-ends , rear-ending , rear-ended ) VERB If a driver or vehicle rear-ends the vehicle in front, they crash into the back of it. [INFORMAL ] □ [V n] A few days earlier somebody had rear-ended him.
rear|guard /r I ə r gɑː r d/
1 N‑SING In a battle, the rearguard is a group of soldiers who protect the back part of an army, especially when the army is leaving the battle.
2 PHRASE If someone is fighting a rearguard action or mounting a rearguard action , they are trying very hard to prevent something from happening, even though it is probably too late for them to succeed. [JOURNALISM ] □ …actresses fighting a rearguard action against the plastification of women.
re|arm /riː ɑː r m/ (rearms , rearming , rearmed ) also re-arm VERB If a country rearms or is rearmed , it starts to build up a new stock of military weapons. □ [V ] They neglected to rearm in time and left Britain exposed to disaster. □ [V n] …NATO's decision to rearm West Germany.
re|arma|ment /riː ɑː r məmənt/ N‑UNCOUNT Rearmament is the process of building up a new stock of military weapons.
re|arrange /riː əre I ndʒ/ (rearranges , rearranging , rearranged )
1 VERB If you rearrange things, you change the way in which they are organized or ordered. □ [V n] When she returned, she found Malcolm had rearranged all her furniture.
2 VERB If you rearrange a meeting or an appointment, you arrange for it to take place at a different time to that originally intended. □ [V n] You may cancel or rearrange the appointment.
re|arrange|ment /riː əre I ndʒmənt/ (rearrangements ) N‑VAR A rearrangement is a change in the way that something is arranged or organized. □ …a rearrangement of the job structure.
rea r-view mir|ror (rear-view mirrors ) also rearview mirror N‑COUNT Inside a car, the rear-view mirror is the mirror that enables you to see the traffic behind when you are driving.
rear|ward /r I ə r wə r d/ ADV [ADV with v] If something moves or faces rearward , it moves or faces backwards. □ …a rearward facing infant carrier. □ The centre of pressure moves rearward and the aeroplane becomes unbalanced. ● ADJ [ADJ n] Rearward is also an adjective. □ …the rearward window.
rea|son ◆◆◆ /riː z ə n/ (reasons , reasoning , reasoned )
1 N‑COUNT The reason for something is a fact or situation which explains why it happens or what causes it to happen. □ [+ for ] There is a reason for every important thing that happens. □ [N to-inf] Who would have a reason to want to kill her?
2 N‑UNCOUNT [usu N to-inf] If you say that you have reason to believe something or to have a particular emotion, you mean that you have evidence for your belief or there is a definite cause of your feeling. □ They had reason to believe there could be trouble. □ He had every reason to be upset.