recreate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of recreate
1425–75; late Middle English recreaten < Latin recreātus (past participle of recreāre to create again, revive), equivalent to re- re- + creātus; see create
Explanation
To recreate means to give new life to something, to redo, or remake it. Say you become a billionaire and you grow tired of your mansion, try recreating your childhood home on your estate, so you can retire modestly. To recreate literally means to create over. If the mural you painted on the outside of your home was damaged in a flood, you might want to recreate it with waterproof paint. Recreate can also mean reimagine. If you become the principal of your old high school, you could throw out the old subjects and recreate high school education as everlasting game day. Recreate can also mean to play — it gives us the word recreation.
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:
“But I don’t think Apple is trying to recreate what happened to the iPhone 17. They’re looking at the 18 cycle being more of a premium category, with the foldable leading the charge.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026
The point is not to recreate Thanksgiving dinner on a Tuesday.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
Today, brain organoids and related models allow researchers to recreate important features of human brain development in the laboratory.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
Journalist Monteiro admitted that version of Mourinho was impossible to recreate.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
She has spent so much time repeating this process that she could recreate the book from memory, but she still does not fully comprehend how the system works.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
According to organisers, 2,977 drones recreated the Twin Towers at full scale with each light representing a victim of the 9/11 attacks.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
In “102 Minutes,” it’s recreated, as is much of the show’s ornamentation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
In the museum's recreated listening rooms, visitors can hear actors reading out some of the conversations.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
To investigate the process, the researchers recreated conditions found inside a volcano using magma collected from the Tajogaite eruption.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
Instead of dreaming their tragic forms, I recreated them as living, laughing people in the cool red confines of RiRi’s tent as she drifted off.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
Forecasters advise those working or recreating outdoors as well as those without air conditioning to follow the forecast this week, stay hydrated, and seek cooling centers when possible.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
It's the closest Kasabian have ever come to sounding like The Eagles; and the thought of recreating on stage live is giving the musician jitters.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
I prefer parchment paper for the first layer, which allows the bread to breathe and avoids recreating the clammy condensation routine of the airport sandwich.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
MarketWatch spent the better part of a day recreating it.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
Finally, she tried her own drawings freehand, looking closely at the fragrant blooms, recreating their soft petals with washes of watercolor.
From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman
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.
