rearview mirror
25
2.8
- noun
- /ˈrɪrˌvjuː ˈmɪrər/
- US
:
espejo retrovisor
- I saw Mitch give me a warning look in the rearview mirror.
- hanging from the rearview mirror
There is no rearview mirror in the cockpit.
- There is no rearview mirror in the cockpit.
- Then she's a dot in the rearview mirror.
- And he looked in the rearview mirror and said, yes, two inches of snow this week.
- And, and so, and I typically I'm always focused on the forward, not the rearview mirror.
- And I looked in my rearview mirror to see where Thomas was on top the other truck and all I could see was a cloud of dust.
- When I picked the first tower up, you know, police car, I got in the rearview mirror.
- And if that doesn't sit well with the people, then I need to put these people in my rearview mirror.
Examples
-
Lilly checks her appearance in the rearview mirror, then gets out of the car.
Fiction book (1990) -
Just seeing Emily's smile in the rearview mirror made Annie Ruth feel a little stronger and less nauseated.
Fiction book (1993) -
Look in your rearview mirror.
-
"We're trained to look through the rearview mirror rather than the front window."
Academic text (2011) -
I drove all the way here with my eyes on the rearview mirror.
Fiction book (1993) -
And the next day, Vernon went out to get in his car, and there, hanging on the rearview mirror, was the hook!
-
I glanced in my rearview mirror and saw the silver and black truck copying my move.
Fiction book (1992) -
As she pulled up to a stoplight and glanced in the rearview mirror, she caught sight of her image.
Fiction book (1993) -
Chaz adjusted the rearview mirror, and Monty waved at him in it.
Fiction book (1993) -
When driving, always check your rearview mirror to ensure there are no vehicles behind you.
Synonyms
7
2.5
A small mirror inside a car that shows the area behind the driver
How Clear
- Specialized
3
3.2
- US
1
3.4
2
3.5
- US
25
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
rearview + mirror
The noun is compositionally built from rear (the back) + view (what you see) + mirror (a reflective surface), so the meaning 'a mirror that shows the view to the rear' is directly derivable from its parts. Even if the device is a camera/screen variant, the underlying compound logic is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will understand it.
Etymology
The rearview mirror is a simple, literal name: it is the mirror that shows the rear view behind a car. So it means 'the mirror a driver uses to see what is behind the vehicle'.