parade rest

noun

A position of rest in which the feet are 12 inches apart and the hands clasped behind the back, or the left hand is behind the back and the right hand holds the rifle with its butt on the ground.

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Meanings

nounparade rest (uncountable)
  1. USuncountablegovernmentA position of rest in which the feet are 12 inches apart and the hands clasped behind the back, or the left hand is behind the back and the right hand holds the rifle with its butt on the ground.

    […] no audible or visible order was given, but the ten thousand soldiers executed the movement of parade rest as a man.

    1959, Kurt Vonnegut, chapter 4, in The Sirens of Titan, New York: Dial, published 2006, page 98
    1 more example

    A stern, sawed-off soldier, whom Colonel Eiger had referred to as a master sergeant, whispered something to the honor guard, who stood at parade rest and glanced anxiously at Colonel Eiger […]

    1989, John Irving, chapter 9, in A Prayer for Owen Meany, New York: William Morrow, page 494
Cite this entry
APA

parade rest. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parade%20rest

MLA

“parade rest.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parade%20rest. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “parade rest,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parade%20rest.

Source: parade rest on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.