redecorate
Britishverb
Other Word Forms
Explanation
When you redecorate something, you renovate or fix it up again. If, for example, you redecorate your bedroom, you might get a new comforter, move your bed across the room, and hang some pictures on the wall. When people redecorate, they may paint walls entirely new colors or put up wallpaper. They might also hang new curtains, pull up old carpet and refinish floors, rearrange furniture, and even buy brand new furnishings. This verb almost always applies to a home, like an apartment, house, or dorm room. Redecorate adds the "again" prefix re- to decorate, which has the Latin root decus, "an ornament."
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.
“It made me want to redecorate my whole house,” said Nicole Schenk, a Philadelphia-based nurse practitioner who booked the suite for a staycation with friends.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 7, 2026
“It would be a sacrilege merely to redecorate it — a word I hate. It must be restored, and that has nothing to do with decoration. That is a question of scholarship.”
From Salon • Jan. 4, 2026
"Our contractors are completing work today to redecorate some of the areas affected by mould and water stains."
From BBC • Feb. 13, 2024
In about 1980, Ms. Landau met and hired the New York theater and restaurant designer Bill Katz to redecorate her apartment on Park Avenue, where she had since moved.
From New York Times • Mar. 28, 2023
My mom, Trey, and I have been living with my grandparents for less than a week now, and I haven’t had time to redecorate.
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
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.
