Reverse: A Gear, an Opposite, and an Overturned Ruling
To reverse is to turn something the other way. The word covers gearboxes, decisions, charges and the back of a coin.
To reverse is to turn something around or undo it. The senses run from the mechanical to the legal: a car goes into reverse, an appeal court reverses a decision, and the *reverse* of a coin is the side opposite the head. The Latin *revertere* means to turn back.
- To go backwards. *Reverse into the space.*
- To change to the opposite. *Reverse the decision.*
- The opposite. *The reverse is true.*
- The back of a coin. *The reverse shows a lion.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | reverse | Reverse the order. |
| Noun | reverse | Put it in reverse. |
| Adjective | reverse | In reverse order. |
| Noun | reversal | A dramatic reversal. |
| Adjective | reversible | A reversible jacket. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The appeal court reversed the ruling.Legal: overturned.
- Reverse the charges.British: the receiver pays for the call.
- The reverse of the coin shows the date.Numismatics; the head is the obverse.
Reverse in different fields
- Driving — the gear for going backwards
- Law — overturning a lower court's decision
- Coins — obverse is the head, reverse the tail
- Textiles — a reversible garment works both ways
- Engineering — reverse engineering works out how something was made
From Old French *reverser*, from Latin *reversare*, from *revertere*, to turn back, from *re-* and *vertere*, to turn — the same verb as in *convert*, *divert* and *version*.
Obverse or reverse?
The obverse is the main side of a coin, usually with a head. The reverse is the other side.
Reverse or revert?
Reverse means to turn something around. Revert means to return to a previous state, and it does not mean to reply, despite common business usage.