rest

plural rests

1. uncountableRelief from work or activity by sleeping; sleep.

   The sun sets, and the workers go to their rest.

   1 more example

   I need to get a good rest tonight; I was up late last night.

   Synonyms: sleep, slumber

2. countableAny relief from exertion; a state of quiet and relaxation.

   We took a rest at the top of the hill to get our breath back.

   Synonyms: break, repose, time off

3. uncountablePeace; freedom from worry, anxiety, annoyances; tranquility.

   It was nice to have a rest from the phone ringing when I unplugged it for a while.

   1 more example

   And the land had rest fourscore years.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Judges 3:30

   Synonyms: peace, quiet, roo, silence, stillness, tranquility

4. uncountableA state of inactivity; a state of little or no motion; a state of completion.

   The ocean was finally at rest.

   2 more examples

   The boulder came to rest just behind the house after rolling down the mountain.

   Now that we're all in agreement, we can put that issue to rest.

5. euphemisticuncountableA final position after death. Also, death itself: "Not alone, not alone would I go to my rest in the heart of the love..." -- George William Russell ("Love")

   She was laid to rest in the village cemetery.

   Synonyms: peace

6. countableentertainmentA pause of a specified length in a piece of music.

   Remember there's a rest at the end of the fourth bar.

7. countableentertainmentA written symbol indicating such a pause in a musical score such as in sheet music.
8. uncountablenatural sciencesAbsence of motion.

   The body's centre of gravity may affect its state of rest.

   Antonyms: motion

9. countableball gamesA stick with a U-, V- or X-shaped head used to support the tip of a cue when the cue ball is otherwise out of reach.

   Higgins can't quite reach the white with his cue, so he'll be using the rest.

10. countableAny object designed to be used to support something else.

    She put the phone receiver back in its rest.

    1 more example

    He placed his hands on the arm rests of the chair.

    Synonyms: cradle, support

11. countableuncountableA projection from the right side of the cuirass of armour, serving to support the lance.

    their visors closed, their lances in the rest

    1700, [John] Dryden, “The Flower and the Leaf: Or, The Lady in the Arbour. A Vision.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC

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

    c. 1851, Catholicus (pen name of John Henry Newman, letter in The Times halfway houses and travellers' rests

    2 more examples

    in dust our final rest, and native home

    1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC

    Ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which the Lord your God giveth you.

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Deuteronomy xii:9

13. countableuncountablecommunicationsA short pause in reading poetry; a caesura.
14. countableuncountableThe striking of a balance at regular intervals in a running account. Often, specifically, the intervals after which compound interest is added to capital.

    a new account was opened under the heading "Irondale Mine" and so continued witli semiannual rest

    1874, New York Court of Appeals, Records and Briefs

15. countabledateduncountableA set or game at tennis.

present singular third person rests · participle present resting · participle past rested · past rested

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

   My day's work is over; now I will rest.

   3 more examples

   I shall not rest until I have uncovered the truth.

   Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 23:12

   After the sugar beets are strained, pour in a large amount of honey and let it rest for thirty minutes. This will form the base for our delicious honey tender.

   1876 July 8, Christopher E. Benck, Recipes for traditional English foods

   Synonyms: have a breather, pause, take a break, take time off, take time out

2. intransitiveTo come to a pause or an end; end.
3. intransitiveTo be free from that which harasses or disturbs; be quiet or still; be undisturbed.

   There rest, if any rest can harbour there.

   1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC

4. copulativereflexivetransitiveTo put into a state of rest.

   We need to rest the horses before we ride any further.

   2 more examples

   And thereby at a pryory they rested them all nyght.

   1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur, Book X

   With the north London derby to come at the weekend, Spurs boss Harry Redknapp opted to rest many of his key players, although he brought back Aaron Lennon after a month out through injury.

   2011 September 29, Jon Smith, “Tottenham 3-1 Shamrock Rovers”, in BBC Sport

5. intransitiveTo stay, remain, be situated, or belong to.

   The blame seems to rest with your father.

   1 more example

   Copyright in the typographical arrangement rests with the Crown.

   Synonyms: be, lie, remain, reside, stay, seat

6. intransitiveTo rely or depend on.

   The decision rests on getting a bank loan.

7. intransitiveTo be based on; to rely on something for proof or explanation

   On him I rested, after long debate, / And not without considering, fixed fate.

   1700, John Dryden, Sigismonda and Guiscardo

   1 more example

   Economics is a messy discipline: too fluid to be a science, too rigorous to be an art. Perhaps it is fitting that economists’ most-used metric, gross domestic product (GDP), is a tangle too.[…]But as a foundation for analysis it is highly subjective: it rests on difficult decisions about what counts as a territory, what counts as output and how to value it. Indeed, economists are still tweaking it.

   2013 August 3, “Boundary problems”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847

   Synonyms: repose, relax

8. intransitivereflexivetransitiveTo lean, lie, or lay.

   I rested my head in my hands.

   3 more examples

   A column rests on its pedestal.

   She rested against my shoulder.

   I rested against the wall for a minute.

   Synonyms: lay, lean

9. USambitransitivelawTo complete one's active advocacy in a trial or other proceeding, and thus to wait for the outcome (however, one is still generally available to answer questions, etc.)

   I rest my case.

   1 more example

   The defense rests, your Honor.

10. intransitiveTo sleep; slumber.
11. intransitiveTo lie dormant.
12. intransitiveTo sleep the final sleep; sleep in death; die; be dead.

    I sing to him that rests below, ⁠And, since the grasses round me wave, ⁠I take the grasses of the grave, And make them pipes whereon to blow.

    1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 35

13. To be satisfied; to acquiesce.

    to rest in Heaven's determination

    1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act II, scene i, page 19

1. uncountableThat which remains.

   She ate some of the food, but was not hungry enough to eat it all, so she put the rest in the refrigerator to finish later.

   Synonyms: lave, remainder

2. uncountableThose not included in a proposition or description; the remainder; others.

   Plato and the rest of the philosophers

   1676, Bishop Stillingfleet, A Defence of the Discourse Concerning the Idolatry Practised in the Church of Rome

   4 more examples

   Arm'd like the rest, the Trojan prince appears.

   1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC

   The rest of us were engaged in various occupations: Mr. Trevor relating experiences of steamboat days on the Ohio to Mrs. Cooke; Miss Trevor buried in a serial in the Century; and Farrar and I taking an inventory of the fishing-tackle, when we were startled by a loud and profane ejaculation.

   1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter XI, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC

   Shepard: The rest of the galaxy isn't just going to bow down just because we tell them to. We'll need the fleets to bring them in line.

   2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel

   It also showed that 26 of the top 30 AI patent requests came from businesses. Universities or public research organizations made up the rest.

   2019 February 3, “UN Study: China, US, Japan Lead World AI Development”, in Voice of America, archived from the original on 07 Feb 2019

3. UKuncountablebusinessA surplus held as a reserved fund by a bank to equalize its dividends, etc.; in the Bank of England, the balance of assets above liabilities.

present singular third person rests · participle present resting · participle past rested · past rested

1. no objectTo continue to be, remain, be left in a certain way.

   Rest you merry.

   1 more example

   You can rest assured that a sick child will say when it's again ready to eat, so it won't starve and doesn't need to be cajoled into eating.

2. obsoletetransitiveTo keep a certain way.

   God rest you merry, gentlemen.

present singular third person rests · participle present resting · participle past rested · past rested

1. colloquialobsoletetransitiveTo arrest.

1. abbreviationacronymuncountablecomputingAcronym of representational state transfer.

   Coding a REST API has never felt right to me. I believe that REST APIs should be designed and configured, but not coded.

   2011, Mark Masse, REST API Design Rulebook: Designing Consistent RESTful Web Service Interfaces, O'Reilly, →ISBN, page 86

1. abbreviationacronymhuman sciencesAcronym of Revised Extended Standard Theory.

1. computingSyllabic abbreviation of reStructuredText, a plain-text markup language.