rearview

UK/ˈɹɪəvjuː/US/ˈɹɪɹvjuː/

adjectiveB2Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speechleans spoken

Rearview describes the mirror that shows a driver what is behind. Fixed to the windscreen, and adjusted before every journey.

The word goes before mirror almost always and is rarely used alone. The little tab underneath flips it to a dimmed setting for night driving, which a surprising number of drivers never discover. Modern cars are adding cameras that feed a screen in the same place. There is a fine figurative use about the past, since looking in the rearview mirror means dwelling on what is behind you.

Definitions of rearview

1adjectiverearviewDescribing the mirror showing the view behind a vehicle.B2
“He caught sight of the police car in the rearview mirror.”

Where it comes from

From rear + view.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 3 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

rearview in the wild

The rearview mirror is augmented by one or more side-view mirrors, which serve as the only rear-vision mirrors on trucks, motorcycles and bicycles.
Rearview mirror
A rearview mirror is a mirror in vehicles which allows the driver to see the area behind the vehicle.
Rearview mirror (disambiguation)
Some systems have rearview cameras and side cameras for better safety.
In-car entertainment
But both were now in Earl Anthony's rearview mirror, as the legendary lefthander earned his 27th and 28th titles during the season.
1977 PBA Tour season

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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