re·verse (rĭ-vûrś)

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[Middle English revers, from Old French, from Latin reversus past participle of revertere, to turn back; see revert.]

adjective 

1. 1. Turned backward in position, direction, or order.
   2. Having the back showing or in view of the observer.
2. Moving, acting, or organized in a manner contrary to the usual.
3. Causing backward movement: a reverse gear.
4. Printing Printed in such a way that the normally colored part appears white against a colored or black background.

noun 

1. The opposite or contrary: All along we thought Sue was older than Bill, but just the reverse was true.
2. 1. The back or rear part.
   2. The side of a coin or medal that does not carry the principal design; the verso.
3. A change to an opposite position, condition, or direction.
4. A change in fortune from better to worse; a setback: suffered financial reverses.
5. 1. A mechanism, such as a gear in a motor vehicle, that is used to reverse movement.
   2. The position or operating condition of such a mechanism.
   3. Movement in an opposite direction.
6. Football An offensive play in which a back running in one direction executes a handoff to a back running in the opposite direction.

verb: -versed, -vers·ing, -vers·es. 

transitive verb 

1. To turn around to the opposite direction.
2. To turn inside out or upside down.
3. To exchange the positions of; transpose.
4. Law To revoke or annul (a decision or decree, for example).
5. 1. To cause to adopt a contrary viewpoint.
   2. To change to the opposite: reversed their planned course of action.
6. To cause (an engine or a mechanism) to function in reverse.

intransitive verb 

1. To turn or move in the opposite direction.
2. To reverse the action of an engine.

idioms

reverse (one's) field

To turn and proceed in the opposite direction.

derivatives

re·versély

adverb

re·verśer

noun

synonyms:

reverse, invert, transpose These verbs mean to change to the opposite position, direction, or course. Reverse implies a complete turning about to a contrary position: reversed the placement of the sofa and chairs. To invert is basically to turn something upside down or inside out, but the term may imply placing something in a reverse order: inverted the glass; invert subject and verb to form an interrogative. Transpose applies to altering position in a sequence by reversing or changing the order: often misspellsby transposing theand the