- 1[singular] the rest (of something) the remaining part of something I'm not doing this job for the rest of my life. How would you like to spend the rest of the day? Take what you want and throw the rest away.
- 2[plural] the rest (of something) the remaining people or things; the others Don't blame Alex. He's human, like the rest of us. The first question was difficult, but the rest were pretty easy.
- 3[countable, uncountable] a period of relaxing, sleeping, or doing nothing after a period of activity We stopped for a well-deserved rest. rest (from something) to have/take a rest from all your hard work Try to get some rest—you have a busy day tomorrow. There are no matches tomorrow, which is a rest day, but the tournament resumes on Monday. support
- 4[countable] (often in compounds) an object that is used to support or hold something an armrest (= for example on a seat or chair) in music
- 5[countable, uncountable] a period of silence between notes; a sign that shows a rest between notes Thesaurusrest
- break
- respite
- time out
- breathing room
- rest a period of relaxing, sleeping, or doing nothing after a period of activity:We stopped for a well-deserved rest.
- break a short period of time when you stop what you are doing and rest or eat:Let's take a break.
- respite a short break from something difficult or unpleasant:The medicine brought a brief respite from the pain.
- time out (informal) time for resting or relaxing away from your usual work or studies:Let's take (some) time out to gather our thoughts.
- breathing room a short rest in the middle of a busy period:I've got very little breathing room in my afternoon schedule.
- (a) rest/break/respite/time out from something
- to have/take (a) rest/break/time out
- to give somebody (a) rest/break/respite/breathing room
- 1(technology) not moving At rest the insect looks like a dead leaf.
- 2dead and therefore free from trouble or anxiety. People say‘at rest’to avoid saying‘dead.’ She now lies at rest in the churchyard.
remaining part/people/things
used at the end of a list to mean everything else that you might expect to be on the list He wants a big house, and an expensive car, and all the rest of it.
to stop moving The car crashed through the barrier and came to rest in a field. His eyes came to rest on Clara's face.
used to tell someone to stop talking about something because they are annoying you Give it a rest! You've been complaining all day.
to stop doing something for a while
to bury someone. People say‘to lay someone to rest’to avoid saying‘to bury someone.’ George was laid to rest beside his parents.
to stop something by showing it is not true The announcement finally laid all the speculation about their future to rest.
used when someone is complaining that they have a lot of work to do
to do or say something to make someone stop worrying about something synonym reassure
used when you are telling a story to say that you do not need to tell the end of it, because everyone knows it already
Check pronunciation: rest