How to Reverse Iterate a Vector in C++? (original) (raw)

Last Updated : 23 Jul, 2025

In this article, we will learn different methods to iterate through the vector in reverse order in C++.

The most efficient method to iterate through the vector in reverse order is by using **reverse iterator. Let’s take a look at an example:

C++ `

#include <bits/stdc++.h> using namespace std;

int main() { vector v = {1, 3, 4, 7, 9};

// Iterating the vector in reverse order
for (auto i = v.rbegin(); i != v.rend(); i++)
    cout << *i << " ";

return 0;

}

**Explanation: We used reverse iterator**vector rbegin()and **vector rend(). By iterating from rbegin() to rend(), we can print the elements of vector in reverse order.

There are also some other methods in C++ to iterate through the vector in reverse order. Some of them are as follows:

Table of Content

Using Traditional Loop with Index
Using Range Based Loop with Reverse Iterator
Using for_each()
Using reverse() Function with Loop

Using Index

A vector can be traverse in reverse order using for loop by starting from the last index and decrementing the index until we reach the first element.

C++ `

#include <bits/stdc++.h> using namespace std;

int main() { vector v = {1, 3, 4, 7, 9};

// Iterating vector in reverse order
for (int i = v.size() - 1; i >= 0; i--)
    cout << v[i] << " ";

return 0;

}

Using a Temporary Reversed Vector

Create a temporary reversed vector using reverse iterator and then traverse it using range-based loop.

C++ `

#include <bits/stdc++.h> using namespace std;

int main() { vector v = {1, 3, 4, 7, 9};

// Iterating the vector in reverse order
for (auto &i : vector<int>(v.rbegin(), v.rend()))
    cout << i << " ";
return 0;

}

Using reverse()

Reverse the vector using **reverse() function, traverse the vector normally and reverse the vector again after traversal.

C++ `

#include <bits/stdc++.h> using namespace std;

int main() { vector v = {1, 3, 4, 7, 9};

// reverse the vector
reverse(v.begin(), v.end());

// Iterating through vector
for (auto i : v)
    cout << i << " ";
return 0;

}