retrain

American  

[ree-treyn] / riˈtreɪn /

verb (used with object)

1. to train again, especially for a different vocation or different tasks.

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verb (used without object)

1. to be retrained.

retrain British  

/ riːˈtreɪn /

verb

1. (tr) to teach (someone) a new skill so that he or she can do a job or find employment

2. (intr) to learn a new skill with a view to doing a job or finding employment

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Other Word Forms

• retrainable adjective

Etymology

Origin of retrain

First recorded in 1930–35; re- + train

Explanation

To retrain is to teach (or to learn) all new information and skills. Once your dog retires from guarding sheep, you can retrain her to be a visiting therapy dog in nursing homes. When someone loses a job in one industry, a state employment agency can often help to retrain them for new kinds of work. A mill worker might retrain to be a computer programmer, for example. The verb retrain has the "again" prefix re- added to train, "to discipline or teach," a definition that grew out of the meaning "manipulate and shape," the way a gardener trains a vine to grow up an arbor.

Example Sentences

She was given small doses of nuts at the private clinic she attended, which was increased over time to retrain her immune system to tolerate the food.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

It may be that you ultimately decide to retrain for another profession.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 9, 2026

“AI isn’t replacing one specific skill. It’s a general substitute for cognitive work…Whatever you retrain for, it’s improving at that too,” AI investor Matt Shumer wrote in a viral X post two weeks ago.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

Anthropic says Claude is trained to value the human ability to “adjust, correct, retrain, or shut down A.I. systems.”

From Slate • Feb. 25, 2026

They loved it, hit it like wolves, and the ravens would have to move off, start over and retrain them.

From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen