Meaning & use
rest
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
A period of relaxing, sleeping or stopping activity so that you regain your energy.
Grammar: Uncountable for the idea (need rest) and countable with a (take a rest).
Patterns
- a rest from something
- get some rest
- take a rest
After the long hike, we all needed a rest.
The doctor told him to get plenty of rest.
She took a short rest before the next meeting.
nounsingular
The part that is left over after other parts have been taken or dealt with.
Grammar: Always with the: the rest of the day. The verb agrees with the noun after of.
Patterns
- the rest of something
- the rest
You can keep the rest of the cake.
I'll finish the rest of my homework tomorrow.
The rest of the students left early.
verbintransitive
To stop working or moving and relax so that you recover strength.
Grammar: No object: rest for a while.
Patterns
- rest for a while
- rest from something
Let's rest here for a few minutes.
The injured player must rest for two weeks.
He rested after the long drive.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To lean or place something on a surface or support, or to be supported by it.
Grammar: She rested her hand on the rail; the ladder rests against the wall.
Patterns
- rest something on something
- rest against something
She rested her head on his shoulder.
The ladder rests against the garage wall.
He rested the cup on his knee.
nouncountablemusic
A pause of set length in music during which no note is played, or the symbol for it.
Grammar: Used in written music: a quarter rest.
Patterns
- a rest in something
The score has a half rest in the third bar.
Count carefully through each rest.
The silence of the rest made the next note stronger.
Word forms
| third person singular | rests |
|---|---|
| past tense | rested |
| past participle | rested |
| -ing form | resting |
| plural | rests |
Common combinations
- get some rest
- You should go home and get some rest.
- the rest of the day
- We spent the rest of the day at the beach.
- take a rest
- Let's take a rest by the stream.
- rest your eyes
- Look away from the screen to rest your eyes.
- bed rest
- The doctor prescribed three days of bed rest.
- rest assured
- Rest assured that we will find your bag.
Synonyms and how they differ
- break
- A break is a short pause in an activity and need not involve sleep, while rest suggests recovering energy.
- relaxation
- Relaxation focuses on enjoying calm and leisure, while rest focuses on recovering from effort.
- remainder
- Remainder is more formal and used in math and legal writing, while the rest is everyday speech.
- repose
- Repose is literary and suggests peaceful stillness, unlike the ordinary rest.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: rest or wrest?
rest vs wrest
Wrest means to pull something away by force, as in wrest control. It sounds like rest but has a different meaning.
Practice
I'll finish ______ of the report after lunch.
Choose one answer.
The rest of means the remaining part. A rest means a break and would not fit before 'of the report' with this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rest”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.