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PlainSpell

reverse

re·verse/ɹɪˈvɝs/adjective, noun, verb

reverse is spelled R-E-V-E-R-S-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables (re·verse). It appears 23 times per million words in written English, the 3,814th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, reverse means “Opposite, contrary; going in the opposite direction” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in reverse?

Letters7: R-E-V-E-R-S-E
Syllables2: re·verse
In writing23 times per million words; the 3,814th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is reverse?

Reverse appears 23 times per million words in written English, the 3,814th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce reverse?

  • UK /ɹɪˈvɜːs/
  • US /ɹɪˈvɝs/

Reverse has 2 syllables, split re·verse in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-reverse.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with reverse?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as reverse from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹs/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: reserve, severer.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of reverse

  • reverses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • reversing participle, present
  • reversed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does reverse mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Opposite, contrary; going in the opposite direction.

    We ate the meal in reverse order, starting with dessert and ending with the starter.

  2. 2

    Pertaining to engines, vehicle movement etc. moving in a direction opposite to the usual direction.

    He selected reverse gear.

  3. 3

    To be in the non-default position; to be set for the lesser-used route.

  4. 4

    Turned upside down; greatly disturbed.

  5. 5

    Reversed.

    a reverse shell

  6. 6

    In which cDNA synthetization is obtained from an RNA template.

noun

  1. 1

    The opposite of something.

    Division is the reverse of multiplication.

  2. 2

    The act of going backwards; a reversal.

  3. 3

    A piece of misfortune; a setback.

  4. 4

    The tails side of a coin, or the side of a medal or badge that is opposite the obverse.

  5. 5

    The side of something facing away from a viewer, or from what is considered the front; the other side.

  6. 6

    The gear setting of an automobile that makes it travel backwards. (Denoted with symbol R on a shifter's labeling.)

    I shifted into reverse and was just about to back up when our silly cat walked behind the car! Honk honk, kitty! Get out of there!

  7. 7

    A thrust in fencing made with a backward turn of the hand; a backhanded stroke.

  8. 8

    A turn or fold made in bandaging, by which the direction of the bandage is changed.

verb

  1. 1

    To turn something around so that it faces the opposite direction or runs in the opposite sequence.

    to reverse the order of books on a shelf

  2. 2

    To turn something inside out or upside down.

  3. 3

    To transpose the positions of two things.

  4. 4

    To change totally; to alter to the opposite.

    All trends reverse eventually.

  5. 5

    obsoleteTo return, come back.

  6. 6

    obsoleteTo turn away; to cause to depart.

  7. 7

    obsoleteTo cause to return; to recall.

  8. 8

    To revoke a law, or to change a decision into its opposite.

    to reverse a judgment, sentence, or decree

adverb

  1. 1

    archaicIn a reverse way or direction; in reverse; upside-down.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate reverse?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of reverse: R.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Reverse in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchinverse (having the order of its constituents moved…), contraire (opposite of something – see also opposite), recul (reversal), revers (setback, misfortune), côté pile (side of a medal, badge, or coin opposite the…), envers (side of something facing away; opposite of front)
Germanumgekehrt (having the order of its constituents moved…), Gegenteil (opposite of something – see also opposite), Kehrseite, Rückseite, Hinterseite (side of a medal, badge, or coin opposite the…), Rückwärtsgang (gear)
Portuguesereverso, inverso, invertido, contrário (having the order of its constituents moved…), reversão (reversal), ré (causing movement in the opposite direction)
Spanishde / al revés, en sentido contrario, reverso (having the order of its constituents moved…), marcha atrás, retroceso, reversa (gear)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does reverse come from?

From Middle English revers, from Anglo-Norman revers, Middle French revers, and their source, Latin reversus, perfect passive participle of reversō, from re- + versō. Doublet of revers.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after reverse