recalibrate
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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to correct or adjust the gradations or settings on (a measuring instrument, sensor, or other piece of precision equipment).
If your battery fuel gauge is still inaccurate after following these steps, you may need to manually recalibrate the gauge.
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to reexamine (one’s thinking, a plan, a system of values, etc.) and correct it in accord with a new understanding or purpose.
This is a government that's out of touch and refusing to recalibrate after getting a clear message from voters.
Etymology
Origin of recalibrate
Explanation
To recalibrate is to adjust the settings on a device that precisely measures, senses, or moves. You might have to recalibrate your thermostat in order for it to accurately tell you how hot or cold it is in your apartment. When a precision instrument is first set up, it's finely adjusted to be as accurate as possible, a process called calibration. Whenever it needs fine-tuning, someone must recalibrate it, bringing it back to accuracy. This is true for scientific instruments, bathroom scales, barometers, and more. If your baking scale seems off, you may want to recalibrate it. This word is from calibrate, originally "determine the caliber of," a reference to measuring the inside of a gun barrel."
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:
Washington's effort to recalibrate its relationship with China depends in part on closer co-operation with its two largest trading partners.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
The other $1 billion, it said, would likely come from efforts to recalibrate its supply chain and other moves to streamline the business.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
“Normally there’d be a current charting trap or rap song, but there’s something about that song that I think makes you recalibrate how you’re looking at the scene in general.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
But a challenging advertising market, changes in search traffic and increased competition have forced these companies to recalibrate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
My own brain was much harder to recalibrate.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
To investigate further, researchers recalibrated radiocarbon dates connected to the human remains.
From Science Daily ● May 13, 2026
While last week’s market upheaval may have led to losses as some funds recalibrated their positions, ongoing volatility could offer opportunities to profit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026
So, on the cusp of turning 30, he retreated to Italy, recalibrated his life and took up marathon running.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026
They have also recalibrated things like production, costs and product design to manage the impact of tariffs.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 20, 2026
Maybe his medication had recalibrated his brain right away, and he was back to being a high-functioning Übermensch in no time.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
As a result, Wall Street is recalibrating expectations for the rest of the hyperscalers.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
There’s a balance every politician must strike: retaining one’s authenticity while remaining open to recalibrating policy positions in response to new evidence or simply evolving, or to match shifts in the public mood.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
After recalibrating the data, the team found that emissions from land had been significantly overestimated in earlier models, but even after correction, land remained the dominant source.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2026
Artificial intelligence is again recalibrating the relationship between Americans and their jobs, as technology eats up the prestigious white-collar work that both consumed waking hours and had been a point of pride.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2025
This was Beethoven's great significance, not through form or musical language, but in recalibrating what music was for.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
