Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: MUSIC

Sense: 1, 8-9
Date: 1400-1500
Language: French
Origin: reste, from rester 'to remain', from Latin restare
Sense: 2-7, 10-12
Origin: Old English'rest, bed'

rest

1 noun
     
rest1 S1 W1
1

the rest

what is left after everything or everyone else has gone, been used, dealt with, or mentioned [↪ remainder, leftovers]:
You carry these two bags, and I'll bring the rest.
Two of the attackers were killed, and the rest escaped.
the rest of
Does anyone want the rest of this pizza?
He'll be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
2

relaxing

[uncountable and countable] a period of time when you are not doing anything tiring and you can relax or sleep:
I need to get some rest.
have/take a rest
You look exhausted! Why don't you take a rest?
We stopped for a well-earned rest (=one that we deserved because we had been working hard).
a rest day/period
We have classes until 12.30, and then we have a rest period.
3

put/set somebody's mind at rest

to make someone feel less anxious or worried:
Why don't you talk to him, and put his mind at rest.
4

come to rest

a) to stop moving:
The aircraft skidded across the runway and finally came to rest in a cornfield.
b) if your eyes come to rest on something, you stop looking around and look at that one thing
come to rest on
My eyes came to rest on a photograph of a young man.
5

give it a rest

spoken especially British English used to tell someone to stop talking about something because they are annoying you:
Give it a rest, Jack!
6

give something a rest

spoken to stop doing an activity:
I gave the acting a rest for a while.
7

at rest

a) MX an expression meaning dead, and free from pain and problems
b) technical not moving
8

and all the rest of it

British English spoken used at the end of a short list to mean other things of a similar type:
I was paying the rent and the bills and all the rest of it.
9

and the rest

British English spoken used to emphasize in a humorous way that a number or amount is really much higher than someone thinks:
'I'd say she's about 40.' 'Yeah, and the rest!'
10

lay/put something to rest

formal to stop people from worrying about or believing something:
The minister resigned, and the government hoped that the scandal would finally be laid to rest.
11

lay somebody to rest

MX an expression meaning to bury someone, used when you want to avoid saying this directly:
She was laid to rest beside her husband.
12

music

[countable]
a) APM a period of silence of a particular length in a piece of music
b) APM a written sign that shows how long the period of silence should be
Definition of rest from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English within
the topic MUSIC
Word of the Day
The MUSIC
Word of the Day is:
drum kit

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