reverse (reverses plural & 3rd person present) (reversing present participle) (reversed past tense & past participle )
1 verb When someone or something reverses a decision, policy, or trend, they change it to the opposite decision, policy, or trend.
They have made it clear they will not reverse the decision to increase prices... V n
2 verb If you reverse the order of a set of things, you arrange them in the opposite order, so that the first thing comes last.
The normal word order is reversed in passive sentences. be V-ed
3 verb If you reverse the positions or functions of two things, you change them so that each thing has the position or function that the other one had.
He reversed the position of the two stamps. V n
4 verb When a car reverses or when you reverse it, the car is driven backwards.
(mainly BRIT)
Another car reversed out of the drive... V
He reversed his car straight at the policeman. V n
in AM, usually use back up
5 n-uncount If your car is inreverse, you have changed gear so that you can drive it backwards.
usu in/into N
He lurched the car in reverse along the ruts to the access road.
6 adj Reverse means opposite to what you expect or to what has just been described.
usu ADJ n
(=opposite)
The wrong attitude will have exactly the reverse effect.
7 n-sing If you say that one thing is the reverse of another, you are emphasizing that the first thing is the complete opposite of the second thing.
the N
There is absolutely no evidence at all that spectators want longer cricket matches. Quite the reverse...
8 n-count A reverse is a serious failure or defeat.
FORMAL
(=setback)
It's clear that the party of the former Prime Minister has suffered a major reverse.
9 n-sing Thereverse or thereverseside of a flat object which has two sides is the less important or the other side.
the N
(=back) (Antonym: front)
Cheques should be made payable to Country Living and your address written on the reverse.
10 If something happens in reverse or goes into reverse, things happen in the opposite way to what usually happens or to what has been happening.
in reverse phrase v PHR
Amis tells the story in reverse, from the moment the man dies...
11 If you reverse the charges when you make a telephone call, the person who you are phoning pays the cost of the call and not you. (BRIT)
reverse the charges phrase V inflects in AM, use call collect
reverse charge call (reverse charge calls plural )A reverse charge call is a telephone call which is paid for by the person who receives the call, rather than the person who makes the call.
(BRIT) n-count
in AM, use collect call
reverse discrimination
Reverse discrimination is the same as positive discrimination. n-uncount
...a policy of reverse discrimination in favour of children from poor backgrounds.
reverse engineering
Reverse engineering is a process in which a product or system is analysed in order to see how it works, so that a similar version of the product or system can be produced more cheaply. (BUSINESS) n-uncount
Xerox set about a process of reverse engineering. It pulled the machines apart and investigated the Japanese factories to find out how they could pull off such feats.
reverse gear (reverse gears plural )The reverse gear of a vehicle is the gear which you use in order to make the vehicle go backwards. n-var
reverse video
Reverse video is the process of reversing the colours of normal characters and background on a computer screen, in order to highlight the display. (COMPUTING) n-uncount
