rewrite

American  

[ree-rahyt, ree-rahyt] / riˈraɪt, ˈriˌraɪt /

verb (used with object)

rewrote, rewritten, rewriting

1. to write in a different form or manner; revise.

   to rewrite the entire book.

2. to write again.

3. to write (news submitted by a reporter) for inclusion in a newspaper.

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noun

1. the news story rewritten.

2. something written in a different form or manner; revision.

   They loved the rewrite, and said it would be a blockbuster!

rewrite British  

verb

1. to write (written material) again, esp changing the words or form

2. computing to return (data) to a store when it has been erased during reading

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noun

1. something rewritten

Other Word Forms

• rewriter
  noun

Etymology

Origin of rewrite

First recorded in 1560–70; re- + write

Explanation

When you rewrite something, you start from scratch, writing it again to improve it. You might decide to rewrite a poem after your entire poetry class seems confused by your original version. A newspaper editor might instruct a reporter to rewrite her story, approaching it from a new angle or including more interviews. To rewrite something is to edit it, but the word implies making significant changes — or even starting all over again with a blank piece of paper or computer screen. You can call the new version itself a rewrite too. In journalism, it was once common for a "rewrite man" to work crafting new stories out of other people's reporting.

Example Sentences

I'm like, "Rewrite the role to keep that person."

From Salon • May 1, 2025

There will now be a tool called Rewrite.

From New York Times • Jun. 14, 2024

Rewrite a paragraph of your draft from an alternative viewpoint.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

Rewrite the radicand as a product using the largest perfect fifth power factor.

From Textbooks • Sep. 23, 2020

Rewrite each scale from Figure 4.18 as an ascending harmonic minor scale.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

Related Words

• edit
• rework