retrofit
Americanverb (used with object)
-
retrofits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
retrofitted,
past participle, past
-
retrofit,
past participle, past
-
retrofitting
present participle
-
to modify equipment (in airplanes, automobiles, a factory, etc.) that is already in service using parts developed or made available after the time of original manufacture.
-
to install, fit, or adapt (a device or system) for use with something older.
to retrofit solar heating to a poorly insulated house.
verb (used without object)
-
retrofits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
retrofitted,
past participle, past
-
retrofit,
past participle, past
-
retrofitting
present participle
-
(of new or modified parts, equipment, etc.) to fit into or onto existing equipment.
-
to replace existing parts, equipment, etc., with updated parts or systems.
noun
-
retrofits
plural
-
something that has been retrofitted.
-
an instance of updating, enlarging, etc., with new or modified equipment.
A retrofit could save thousands of dollars.
adjective
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
retrofitsimple
-
retrofitssimple
-
have retrofitperfect
-
have retrofittedperfect
-
has retrofitperfect
-
has retrofittedperfect
-
am retrofittingprogressive
-
are retrofittingprogressive
-
is retrofittingprogressive
-
have been retrofittingperfect progressive
-
has been retrofittingperfect progressive
Past
-
retrofitsimple
-
retrofittedsimple
-
had retrofitperfect
-
had retrofittedperfect
-
was retrofittingprogressive
-
were retrofittingprogressive
-
had been retrofittingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of retrofit
Explanation
When you retrofit something, you replace old parts with new ones. You might retrofit an antique car with updated brakes and seat belts, for example. You can use retrofit as a verb, or it can be a noun meaning the new part itself, or something that's added on later. The solar panels on your two hundred year old house are a retrofit, and so is the fancy new stereo in your beat up old car. Retrofit has been around since the mid-1950s, when retroactive and refit were combined into a new word.
Vocabulary lists containing retrofit
This Week In Culture: August 30–September 4, 2020
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Vocabulary From the Ninth Democratic Debate, April 14, 2016
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Internment
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
The fourth was to retrofit mobile storage systems in the park’s museum storage facility.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Leaders must scramble to retrofit workplaces like hospitals and schools with air conditioning, support farmers switching crops, and build out irrigation systems and water reservoirs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
The most disruptive part of the retrofit work was carried out first, and included the insulation of shared walls, flooring and the roof.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
California residents can prepare for an earthquake in a number of ways including property owners assessing whether a retrofit is needed, even if it isn’t required by a city ordinance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
The Center has since benefitted by a forty-million-dollar retrofit, but there's still enough forest and swamp on the facility for the Border Patrol to put in tracking practice.
From The Hacker Crackdown, law and disorder on the electronic frontier by Bruce Sterling
Toyota produced few RAV4s in January and February after two plants in Ontario, Canada, underwent retrofits for the overhauled 2026 model.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
American Airlines expects screens to be installed across its full fleet by early in the next decade, with retrofits starting in 2028.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
On Net Zero he proposes a "Northern Way", which subsidises the transition, retrofits, cutting bills, and building exportable locally owned industry.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
More recently built structures need fewer upgrades and may not require seismic retrofits to meet safety codes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026
Amid Southern California’s most seismically active year in decades, some cities have yet to require retrofits of many apartment buildings deemed most at risk of collapse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2024
It’s traditional masculinity retrofitted for a progressive audience.
From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2026
Milena Nikolova, a partner at Antares, said the firm looks for tech that can be retrofitted into existing infrastructure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
They lived in makeshift apartments and partied in retrofitted warehouses.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
"Once that multi-gigawatt power infrastructure has been retrofitted to AI or HPC colocation, there is no turning back," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
His first floor was now being retrofitted to accommodate his wheelchair—its doorways widened, its kitchen sink lowered—part of a joint effort between a nonprofit called Rebuilding Together and the company that owned Sears and Kmart.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
He compares what Huskeys does for web security to retrofitting an old car.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
But the Passivhaus Trust - for which Baeli is a non-executive director - acknowledges retrofitting your home to this standard is "expensive".
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Given the need for retrofitting, remediation, replacement of obsolete utility systems and massive grading involved, Garcia was not surprised by the long development time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
At those levels, buyers can commission their own dream homes instead of retrofitting someone else’s fantasy.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026
In April the government approved a legal framework to allow people to convert their petrol and diesel vehicles into electric ones, known as "retrofitting".
From Barron's ● May 3, 2026
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
