| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| rest1 |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  r st |
| NOUN: | 1. Cessation of work, exertion, or activity. 2. Peace, ease, or refreshment resulting from sleep or the cessation of an activity. 3. Sleep or quiet relaxation. 4. The repose of death: eternal rest. 5. Relief or freedom from disquiet or disturbance. 6. Mental or emotional tranquillity. 7. Termination or absence of motion. 8. Music a. An interval of silence corresponding to one of the possible time values within a measure. b. The mark or symbol indicating such a pause and its length. 9. A short pause in a line of poetry; a caesura. 10. A device used as a support: a back rest. 11. Games See bridge1. | | VERB: | Inflected forms: rest·ed, rest·ing, rests
| | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To cease motion, work, or activity. 2. To lie down, especially to sleep. 3. To be at peace or ease; be tranquil. 4. To be, become, or remain temporarily still, quiet, or inactive: Let the issue rest here. 5. To be supported or based; lie, lean, or sit: The ladder rests firmly against the tree. 6. To be imposed or vested, as a responsibility or burden: The final decision rests with the chairperson. 7. To depend or rely: That argument rests on a false assumption. 8. To be located or be in a specified place: The original manuscript rests in the museum. 9. To be fixed or directed on something: “His brown eyes rested on her for a moment” (John le Carré). 10. To remain; linger. 11. Law To cease voluntarily the presentation of evidence in a case: The defense rests. | | TRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To give rest or repose to: rested my eyes. 2. To place, lay, or lean for ease, support, or repose. 3. To base or ground: I rested my conclusion on that fact. 4. To fix or direct (the gaze, for example). 5. To bring to rest; halt. 6. Law To cease voluntarily the introduction of evidence in (a case). | | IDIOMS: | at rest 1a. Asleep. b. Dead. 2. Motionless; inactive. 3. Free from anxiety or distress. lay (or put) to rest 1. To bury (a dead body); inter. 2. To settle (an issue, for example), especially so as to be free of it: The judge's ruling put to rest the dispute between the neighbors. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, from Old English. | | OTHER FORMS: | rest er —NOUN
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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