reverse

adj

1. (not-comparable)Opposite, contrary; going in the opposite direction.

   “We ate the meal in reverse order, starting with dessert and ending with the starter.”

   “The mirror showed us a reverse view of the scene.”

2. (not-comparable)Pertaining to engines, vehicle movement etc. moving in a direction opposite to the usual direction.

   “He selected reverse gear.”

3. (not-comparable)To be in the non-default position; to be set for the lesser-used route.
4. (not-comparable)Turned upside down; greatly disturbed.
5. (not-comparable)Reversed.

   “a reverse shell”

6. (not-comparable)In which cDNA synthetization is obtained from an RNA template.

adv

1. (archaic, not-comparable)In a reverse way or direction; in reverse; upside-down.

   “The man was killed to feed his image fat / Within this pictured world that ran reverse, / Where miracles alone were ever plain.”

noun

1. The opposite of something.

   “Division is the reverse of multiplication.”

   “The Sun doesn't orbit the Earth—quite the reverse, in fact.”

2. The act of going backwards; a reversal.

   “By a reverse of fortune, Stephen becomes rich.”

3. A piece of misfortune; a setback.

   “And the cold truth such sad reverse did seem As to awake in grief from some delightful dream.”

   “Simon Forman was notorious in his day, and was a many of many reverses.”

   “In fact, though the Russians did not yet know it, the British had met with a reverse.”

4. The tails side of a coin, or the side of a medal or badge that is opposite the obverse.
5. The side of something facing away from a viewer, or from what is considered the front; the other side.
6. The gear setting of an automobile that makes it travel backwards. (Denoted with symbol R on a shifter's labeling.)

   “I shifted into reverse and was just about to back up when our silly cat walked behind the car! Honk honk, kitty! Get out of there!”

7. A thrust in fencing made with a backward turn of the hand; a backhanded stroke.

   “but first , master see thee pass thy punto , thy stock , thy reverse , thy guest”

8. A turn or fold made in bandaging, by which the direction of the bandage is changed.
9. Synonym of transpose.

verb

1. (transitive)To turn something around so that it faces the opposite direction or runs in the opposite sequence.

   “to reverse the order of books on a shelf”

   “to reverse a portion of video footage”

2. (transitive)To turn something inside out or upside down.

   “A pyramid reversed may stand upon his point if balanced by admirable skill.”

3. (transitive)To transpose the positions of two things.
4. (transitive)To change totally; to alter to the opposite.

   “All trends reverse eventually.”

   “Reverse the doom of death.”

   “They reversed the conduct of the celebrated vicar of Bray.”

5. (intransitive, obsolete)To return, come back.

   “Bene they all dead, and laide in dolefull herse? / Or doen they onely sleepe, and shall againe reuerse?”

6. (obsolete, transitive)To turn away; to cause to depart.

   “And that old dame said many an idle verse, / Out of her daughter's heart fond fancies to reverse.”

7. (obsolete, transitive)To cause to return; to recall.

   “And to his fresh remembrance did reverse / The ugly view of his deformd crimes.”

8. To revoke a law, or to change a decision into its opposite.

   “to reverse a judgment, sentence, or decree”

   “From March 30, LNER was running around 40% of its trains and had suspended its Aberdeen, Inverness and Hull services, although it reversed the latter decision after Hull Trains suspended operations.”

9. (ergative)To cause a mechanism to operate or move in the opposite direction to normal; to drive a vehicle in the direction the driver has the back.

   “Richardson dropped into the six-foot between the two engines, ran for a few yards, grabbed Mitchell's engine, and swung himself up. Mitchell had got to his feet by this time, but he made no move. Richardson shut off steam, reversed her, and brought her to a stand.”

   “Passengers said the train had to reverse from Hsinshih (新市) in Tainan County to Liuchiao (六腳) in Chiayi County before moving forward again.”

10. To change the direction of a reaction such that the products become the reactants and vice-versa.
11. (transitive)To place (a set of points) in the reverse position.
12. (intransitive)To move from the normal position to the reverse position.
13. (transitive)To engage reverse thrust on (an engine).
14. To overthrow; to subvert.

    “These can divide, and these reverse, the state.”

    “Custom […] reverses even the distinctions of good and evil.”

15. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Ellipsis of reverse-engineer.

    “Reversing is also heavily used in connection with malicious software, on both ends of the fence: […]”

    “[…] but in some instances where malware is proving to be difficult, reversing is needed.”