Synonyms

retool

American

[ree-tool] / riˈtul /

verb (used with object)

to replace or rearrange the tools and machinery of (a factory).
to reorganize or rearrange, usually for the purpose of updating.

to retool the industrial organization.

verb (used without object)

to replace or rearrange the tools of a factory.
to replace the stamping machinery of a factory, especially to make a remodeled product.

retool British

/ riːˈtuːl /

verb

to replace, re-equip, or rearrange the tools in (a factory, etc)
to revise or reorganize

"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

Other Word Forms

retoolable adjective

Etymology

Origin of retool

First recorded in 1935–40; re- + tool

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.

Woods and other executives are watching how Chevron fares in a retooled Venezuela.

From The Wall Street Journal

It is closing operating hubs and retooling its fleet of planes.

From The Wall Street Journal

An industry as hidebound as this one is going to need time to retool and figure out ways to address shifting consumer tastes.

From The Wall Street Journal

Then throughout postproduction, as the scenes were continually retooled and rearranged, the story continued to evolve and grow and new realizations kept springing from the work for everyone involved.

From Los Angeles Times

“But they’ll just switch to copper!” say people who have never retooled a factory.

From MarketWatch

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023