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reverse

reverse

53 3.7
A gear in a machine or vehicle that makes it move backward
  • noun
  • /rɪˈvɜrs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : marcha atrás
  • Max, downshift slowly and put it in reverse.
  • go into reverse

Examples

  • So in the car, you have a forward gear called drive and a reverse gear called reverse.

  • Listen, put it in reverse.

  • Ever heard of driving in reverse?

  • I had just put the car into reverse when Johnny grabbed my arm.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Put it in reverse.

  • It's stuck in reverse!

  • It's in reverse!

  • Terminator slams the car into reverse and punches it, lighting up the tires on the slick ramp.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Reacting to the shot, Perdita jams the gear shift into reverse and peels out, knocking the deputy down.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • To move backward, shift the gear into reverse.

Synonyms

reverse gear
vsreverse
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A gear in a vehicle that makes it move backwards

has identical meaning but appears as the shorter single word

Compounds

reverse gear
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A gear in a vehicle that makes it move backwards

reverse osmosis
  • Specialized
1 4.5

A process that makes water clean by forcing it through a thin layer to stop salt and dirt

double reverse
  • Specialized
1 8.2

A running play in American football where the ball is handed twice, each time changing direction

reverse transcriptase
  • Specialized
1 6.3

An enzyme that makes DNA from RNA, often used by viruses like HIV

A drug that stops HIV changing its genetic material and is used with other medicines

An HIV drug that joins viral DNA and stops the enzyme that copies the virus

reverse fault
  • Specialized
8.3

A break in rock where one side moves up when the land is pushed together

A body position with arms stretched backward while the body is held by a bar above

reverse lightning
  • Specialized
9.9

A rare electric flash that travels upward from storm clouds

9.8

A tendency to make everything a person touches fail

9.5

A way to write math with numbers before the sign so no parentheses

reverse split
  • Specialized
8.2

Reduce the number of a company's shares so each share is worth more without changing total investment value

reverse stock split
  • Specialized
7.9

A company action that combines its shares so each is worth more but the total value stays the same

A drug that stops an enzyme viruses like HIV use to copy their genes

reverse trap
  • Informal
9.1

A trick that backfires and harms the person who set it

9.9

A position on rings where a gymnast hangs upside down with hips bent and legs straight

Surface Forms

reverse singular
reverses plural

Morphology

reverse = verse (semi-transparent) = re + verse

The gear 'reverse' meaning 'move backward' follows the literal sense 'turn back', but the specific morpheme '-verse' is not transparent to learners.

Etymology

Reverse comes from the Latin parts re- ('back') and vertere ('to turn'), so it means 'turning back'. That is why the reverse gear makes a machine or vehicle move backward.