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rest

noun · verb

Simple meaning

Relief from work or activity by sleeping.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

rehst
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɹɛst

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. uncountableof a person or animal

    Relief from work or activity by sleeping; sleep.

  2. Freedom from activity (work or strain or responsibility)

  3. uncountable

    Peace; freedom from worry, anxiety, annoyances; tranquility.

  4. A place where one may rest, either temporarily, as in an inn, or permanently, as, in an abode.

  5. countable

    Any relief from exertion; a state of quiet and relaxation.

  6. uncountableof an object or concept

    A state of inactivity; a state of little or no motion; a state of completion.

verb

  1. intransitive

    To cease from action, motion, work, or performance of any kind; stop; desist; be without motion.

  2. intransitive

    To come to a pause or an end; end.

  3. intransitive

    To be free from that which harasses or disturbs; be quiet or still; be undisturbed.

  4. Stay the same; remain in a certain state

  5. intransitive

    To stay, remain, be situated, or belong to.

  6. transitiveintransitivereflexive

    To lean, lie, or lay.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: (uncountable, of a person or animal) Relief from work or activity by sleeping; sleep.

Used this way, rest is a reasonably familiar word with a mildly favourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Slightly positive
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Moderate
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Positive and appreciative
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Nearby words

  • eternal sleep , rarer, so it draws attention

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use rest

  • “A body will continue in a state of rest until acted upon.”noun
  • “People actually accomplish more when they take time for short rests.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

bed restsome rest

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • restedadjectiveInflected form

    Not tired.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • restlessadjectiveDerived adjective

    Lacking or not affording physical or mental rest.

  • restfuladjectiveDerived adjective

    Affording physical or mental rest.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • rest areanounCompound term

    Designated paved area beside a main road where cars can stop temporarily.

  • rest-curenounCompound term

    Rest as a medical treatment for stress or anxiety etc.

  • rest daynounCompound term

    A day set aside for rest.

  • rest energynounCompound term

    The energy equivalent to the mass of a particle at rest in an inertial frame of reference.

  • rest-harrownounCompound term

    Eurasian plant having loose racemes of pink or purple flowers and spiny stems and tough roots.

  • rest homenounCompound term

    An institution where people are cared for.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: relief from work or activity by sleeping

reposeease

Antonyms

Sense: to cease from action or motion or work

move

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.