retrofit
Americanverb (used with object)
-
retrofits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
retrofitted,
past participle, past
-
retrofit,
past participle, past
-
retrofitting
present participle
-
to modify equipment (in airplanes, automobiles, a factory, etc.) that is already in service using parts developed or made available after the time of original manufacture.
-
to install, fit, or adapt (a device or system) for use with something older.
to retrofit solar heating to a poorly insulated house.
verb (used without object)
-
retrofits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
retrofitted,
past participle, past
-
retrofit,
past participle, past
-
retrofitting
present participle
-
(of new or modified parts, equipment, etc.) to fit into or onto existing equipment.
-
to replace existing parts, equipment, etc., with updated parts or systems.
noun
-
retrofits
plural
-
something that has been retrofitted.
-
an instance of updating, enlarging, etc., with new or modified equipment.
A retrofit could save thousands of dollars.
adjective
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
retrofitsimple
-
retrofitssimple
-
have retrofitperfect
-
have retrofittedperfect
-
has retrofitperfect
-
has retrofittedperfect
-
am retrofittingprogressive
-
are retrofittingprogressive
-
is retrofittingprogressive
-
have been retrofittingperfect progressive
-
has been retrofittingperfect progressive
Past
-
retrofitsimple
-
retrofittedsimple
-
had retrofitperfect
-
had retrofittedperfect
-
was retrofittingprogressive
-
were retrofittingprogressive
-
had been retrofittingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of retrofit
Explanation
When you retrofit something, you replace old parts with new ones. You might retrofit an antique car with updated brakes and seat belts, for example. You can use retrofit as a verb, or it can be a noun meaning the new part itself, or something that's added on later. The solar panels on your two hundred year old house are a retrofit, and so is the fancy new stereo in your beat up old car. Retrofit has been around since the mid-1950s, when retroactive and refit were combined into a new word.
Vocabulary lists containing retrofit
This Week In Culture: August 30–September 4, 2020
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Vocabulary From the Ninth Democratic Debate, April 14, 2016
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Internment
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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.
See Examples For:
The fourth was to retrofit mobile storage systems in the park’s museum storage facility.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Schneider Electric said the acquisition would combine its technology offer across residential, retrofit and small commercial buildings with Shelly’s software-led home energy platform.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
The most disruptive part of the retrofit work was carried out first, and included the insulation of shared walls, flooring and the roof.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
And it would have proven more costly to retrofit than the Rose Bowl pool.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
The Center has since benefitted by a forty-million-dollar retrofit, but there's still enough forest and swamp on the facility for the Border Patrol to put in tracking practice.
From The Hacker Crackdown, law and disorder on the electronic frontier by Bruce Sterling
American Airlines expects screens to be installed across its full fleet by early in the next decade, with retrofits starting in 2028.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
On Net Zero he proposes a "Northern Way", which subsidises the transition, retrofits, cutting bills, and building exportable locally owned industry.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The ADS-B In retrofits might not be compatible with hundreds of planes in the U.S. commercial fleet, according to Bedford, the FAA administrator.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
Many cities have also not acted on requiring retrofits of other types of potentially vulnerable buildings, including those that have certain flaws to their concrete or steel frames.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2025
These efforts don’t have to be expensive, he said, pointing to a list of low-cost retrofits from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2025
It’s traditional masculinity retrofitted for a progressive audience.
From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2026
Kieran Maguire, professor of football finance at the University of Liverpool, told BBC Sport the commission found "the documents were retrofitted to fit the crime".
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
Nobody knows where the Shakespeare nickname came from, but city officials designated the bridge as L.A.’s Historic-Cultural Monument No. 126 in 1974 and retrofitted it in the 1990s to better withstand earthquakes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
They lived in makeshift apartments and partied in retrofitted warehouses.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
His first floor was now being retrofitted to accommodate his wheelchair—its doorways widened, its kitchen sink lowered—part of a joint effort between a nonprofit called Rebuilding Together and the company that owned Sears and Kmart.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
More than 50 sites will get chargers over the next 18 months, the spokesperson said, and the city has been retrofitting existing public stations and adding chargers at libraries and recreation centers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
The airline won’t be retrofitting them with the plush new Delta One suites unveiled in New York.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
But the Passivhaus Trust - for which Baeli is a non-executive director - acknowledges retrofitting your home to this standard is "expensive".
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
At those levels, buyers can commission their own dream homes instead of retrofitting someone else’s fantasy.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026
In April the government approved a legal framework to allow people to convert their petrol and diesel vehicles into electric ones, known as "retrofitting".
From Barron's ● May 3, 2026
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