realign
Britishverb
Explanation
When you realign something, you return it to a former position or place. If you break your arm roller skating, a doctor will have to set the bone, or realign it, before she puts on a cast. We realign things physically when we line them back up or restore them to a previous balance. The alignment on your car is what makes it drive straight — all four wheels should be perfectly lined up. If they're not, a mechanic can realign them. We can also realign things figuratively, like when a political party realigns itself, or attempts to line its positions up with what's important to voters.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“This is a monstrous record,” Robert Christgau wrote, while Rolling Stone said it was a “muddled-sounding, much-hyped attempt to realign Diamond with the rock audience.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
Bembridge grew up on a council estate in Speedwell, and said he was worried having rickets and multiple operations to realign his leg bones would affect his employment.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026
The Chinese government on Wednesday said Its exports exceeded imports by $1.19 trillion, up almost 20% year over year and demonstrating China’s ability to realign its export markets.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 14, 2026
China is attempting to realign its economy away from investment and real estate ownership toward sustainable growth and consumption.
From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026
And Father perked up as he showed the Whitlaws how to realign them into another shape and told the story of that.
From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
