rearm

[ ree-ahrm ]

/ riˈɑrm /

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verb (used with object)

to arm again.

to furnish with new or better weapons: As soon as the new rifle was in production, the troops were rearmed.

verb (used without object)

to become armed again.

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Origin of rearm

First recorded in 1870–75; re- + arm²

OTHER WORDS FROM rearm

re·ar·ma·ment

[ree-ahr-muh-muhnt], /riˈɑr mə mənt/, noun

Words nearby rearm

rear end, rear-ender, rearguard, rear its ugly head, rear light, rearm, rearmost, rearmouse, rear projection, rearrange, rear sight

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rearm in a sentence

The planned returns for aerial landing include the drone latching on to a boom trailing beyond its mothership, much like for in-air refueling, only this will entail not just refueling but possibly being lifted inside the craft and rearmed.
DARPA’s Gremlin drones could be reloaded while airborne|Rob Verger|June 16, 2021|Popular-Science
They liked him when he came to power and started rearming the country because it meant the army got bigger, and suddenly there was room for the promotion of all these officers that are sort of stuck in the 1920s and 1930s.
The Real Biggest Myths About World War II, According to a Military Historian|Olivia B. Waxman|May 7, 2021|Time
Throughout the 1970s Carter badgered the NATO allies to rearm.
Carter in Oscarland: The Rehabilitation of the 39th President|Douglas Brinkley|February 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It will be just a matter of time before they rearm through the tunnels, she said.
Overcast With A Chance Of Rockets|Ehud Zion Waldoks|November 23, 2012|DAILY BEAST

The ceasefire will least as long as it takes Hamas to rearm, and likely not much longer than that.
Will the Ceasefire Last?|Matthew Levitt|November 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
But without significant diplomatic follow-up, it will likely last only as long as it takes Hamas to rearm.
Will the Ceasefire Last?|Matthew Levitt|November 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
So why not “try to give them the tools to rearm to be reemployed?”
Congress Ponders Adding GED Requirement to Unemployment Benefits|Gary Rivlin|February 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He'll drop fifty planet bombs out of your peaceful skies and collect your vassal worlds before they can rearm.
Victory|Lester del Rey
This fort the Admiral, in those days of waiting, had taken the precaution secretly to garrison and rearm.
Captain Blood|Rafael Sabatini
"And now the Kerak Worlds want to rearm and try again," Leoh said.
The Dueling Machine|Benjamin William Bova
If they won the armistice, they'd be able to retrench and rearm, and the war would break out again within a few years.
In Case of Fire|Gordon Randall Garrett
He has acquired complete dictatorship of the Kerak Worlds, and is now attempting to rearm them for war.
The Dueling Machine|Benjamin William Bova

British Dictionary definitions for rearm

rearm

/ (riːˈɑːm) /

verb

to arm again

(tr) to equip (an army, a nation, etc) with better weapons

Derived forms of rearm

rearmament, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012