rebuild
Americanverb (used with object)
-
rebuilds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rebuilt,
past participle, past
-
rebuilded,
past participle, past (Archaic)
-
rebuilding
present participle
-
to repair, especially to dismantle and reassemble with new parts.
to rebuild an old car.
-
to replace, restrengthen, or reinforce.
to rebuild an army.
-
to revise, reshape, or reorganize.
to rebuild a shattered career.
verb (used without object)
-
rebuilds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rebuilt,
past participle, past
-
rebuilded,
past participle, past (Archaic)
-
rebuilding
present participle
verb
-
to make, construct, or form again
the cost of rebuilding the house
-
(tr) to restore (a system or situation) to a previous condition
his struggle to rebuild his life
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
rebuildsimple
-
rebuildssimple
-
have rebuildedperfect
-
have rebuiltperfect
-
has rebuildedperfect
-
has rebuiltperfect
-
am rebuildingprogressive
-
are rebuildingprogressive
-
is rebuildingprogressive
-
have been rebuildingperfect progressive
-
has been rebuildingperfect progressive
Past
-
rebuildedsimple
-
rebuiltsimple
-
had rebuildedperfect
-
had rebuiltperfect
-
was rebuildingprogressive
-
were rebuildingprogressive
-
had been rebuildingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rebuild
Explanation
When you construct something again, you rebuild it. If the chair you made from scraps of wood collapses when you sit in it, you can either rebuild it or give up on the idea of making your own furniture. When a natural disaster — like a hurricane or a tornado — destroys people's houses, they usually need the community's help to rebuild them. Before modern fire departments existed, several cities in the United States burned in terrible fires, destroying nearly all the homes and businesses. These cities had to rebuild, which they often did using less flammable materials, like bricks, rather than just wood.
Vocabulary lists containing rebuild
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 southern Bouches-du-Rhone department said it planned to rebuild the school, but the project depended on securing additional land from the city of Marseille, with discussions ongoing for years.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
The Aston Villa head coach was talking about his team's form amid Villa Park's rebuild.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Bass said she has cut red tape to ensure that Palisades residents can rebuild their homes, and apologized for being gone when the blaze broke out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
In 2019, the town had discovered faulty concrete in Birch Grove Primary School, and needed to rebuild it fast.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
“It’s just a house. We can rebuild a house. Did you see Poco up there? He jumped out of my arms and disappeared into the night.”
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
New blood vessel growth is equally important because healing tissue needs a steady supply of oxygen and nutrients as it rebuilds itself.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
Rebels led by HTS overthrew long-time Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, with the group's leader Ahmed al-Sharaa taking over as president as the country rebuilds after more than 13 years of civil war.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
Instead, Ted’s emphasis on personal growth and camaraderie rebuilds the Greyhounds from their league’s demoralized joke into its comeback kings, powered by their yearning to Believe.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026
“Nothing goes away,” the omniscient narrator observes of a ruined cottage that Tomás rebuilds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
By the early nineties, a scientist at Yale had used HeLa to discover that human cancer cells contain an enzyme called telomerase that rebuilds their telomeres.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
Nevertheless, 'In the Market-Place of Bruges stands the Belfry old and brown; Thrice consumed and thrice rebuilded, still it watches o'er the town.'
From Bruges and West Flanders by Amédée Forestier
For we look to the bed as a refuge from our troubles, as a sanctuary wherein is rebuilded our strength.
From The Nervous Housewife by Abraham Myerson
In a rebuilded Jamestown, Lord De La Warr, of "approved courage, temper and experience," held for a short interval dignified, seigneurial sway, while his restless associates adventured far and wide.
From Pioneers of the Old South: a chronicle of English colonial beginnings by Mary Johnston
Once more the vast dome of heaven became the roof of my house, and within the house was rebuilded that which my soul called beautiful.
From A Tramp's Sketches by Stephen Graham
The Lord will cause Jerusalem to be rebuilded “upon her own heap.”
From Why I Preach the Second Coming by Isaac Massey Haldeman
In 2019, they ripped one version out of Brooksville and rebuilt it from scratch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
After LeBron James led a wave of veteran departures, the Lakers rebuilt around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
In another post, he expressed his wish for "an independent Quebec, a rebuilt Haiti".
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
PET contains carbon-rich molecules that can potentially be broken apart and rebuilt into useful compounds, including components that can ultimately become proteins.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
Sitting in the one o’clock sun, she rebuilt her house, populated the yard with her father and brother and Calpurnia, put Henry across the street and Miss Rachel next door.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
It was a stark contrast from Chicago, where a rebuilding project led to two tumultuous years and nearly three times as many losses as victories.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
It requires mortgage lenders that hold insurance proceeds during rebuilding to pay at least 2% annual simple interest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
"The task ahead is to move from coping to rebuilding, restoring fiscal space and supply-side resilience."
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
Many residents here say they can’t wait for American investors to arrive and start plowing money into rebuilding the country’s dilapidated oil infrastructure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
The abandoned village wasn’t too far off, and already showed signs of rebuilding.
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
