What does “dar ré” mean in Portuguese?

In Brazil, dar (a) ré is how you say “to reverse” or “back the car up” — and ré on its own is reverse gear, the position drivers call out as they ease backwards. Going de ré means moving backwards. The word comes from Latin retro (“backwards”), the same root as the stern of a boat — the back end. No textbook teaches it, but every Brazilian driver uses it daily.

You’ll hear both forms here: the driver começou a dar a ré (“started backing up”) and then sobe a rampa de ré (“climbs the ramp in reverse”) to win the soapy-pit challenge. Note the dialect split: Brazilians say marcha à ré, while in Portugal reverse is marcha-atrás. Everyday spoken Brazilian usually trims it to just dar ré or ir de ré — dá uma ré aí (“back up a bit there”) is the kind of line you’ll catch in any parking lot.