reuse
Americanverb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Explanation
To reuse something is to make use of it more than once, or for a subsequent time. Asking for a plastic bag at the grocery store might seem wasteful, but you can reuse that bag many times. Instead of throwing something away after using it once, ask yourself if there's any way you can reuse it. You can reuse a paper towel roll by putting it in your hamster's cage so he can crawl through and chew on it. You can reuse containers like glass jars and plastic tubs by storing leftovers in them. You can even reuse kitchen scraps by composting them and using the compost in your garden.
Vocabulary lists containing reuse
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:
Starship's enormous payload capacity and planned rapid reuse make it well suited for ambitious projects such as lunar bases, Mars missions, and massive satellite constellations.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
Musk’s company has been able to reuse expensive materials between launches, while China has been forced to rely on disposable rockets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Users can opt out by going to settings, selecting “sharing and reuse” and turning off the option that allows others to create with and reuse their content.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
To do so, users must go to Instagram's settings menu, select "Sharing and Reuse" and switch off "Allow people to reuse your content on Instagram and with AI features at Meta" for posts and reels.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Such reuse of old materials is not unknown, though nobody has ever seen it with a gourd three thousand years old.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
RadixArk’s inference engine reuses KV cache by organizing conversation snippets into a filing system called a Radix tree.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
She said she reuses the Cheetos in her artwork.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2024
Depending on the type of clothing and its condition, H&M donates the clothing to charity, recycles it, or reuses it to make new clothing to sell.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 1, 2023
That maximum travel figure rises to 40,118 km overall for two reuses and 72,616km for three.
From BBC ● Dec. 9, 2022
Like well-run factories, cells are thrifty; part of the cellular machinery chops up and reuses anything that is floating around inside, including bits of the cell and foreign invaders such as viruses.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
The Falcon 9 now launches about 150 times a year with boosters that are capable of being reused dozens of times.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
It expects the first stage of the Long March rocket to be reused for flight by the end of the year.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
It emphasizes the idea of a “circular economy” in which the producer of a material must consider its fate — making sure it can be reused or recycled, or at least reduced.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
Only a portion is reused in food manufacturing, while much of the remainder is discarded.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026
Ugwu nearly choked when he came close and realized that the rotten smell came from her water: it had previously been used to soak cassava, perhaps for days, and was being reused.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The practice of reusing parts from junked cars is common in the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
The legislation also requires ultra-fast fashion companies to display messages on their websites promoting more moderate consumption, including reusing and repairing clothing.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
He explained that while recycling some items can be a good way to go, the process still produces emissions, so "by reusing things you're generating far less carbon".
From BBC ● Nov. 28, 2025
"We hope it will inspire further work on reusing other kinds of fluorinated waste and help make the production of vital fluorine-containing compounds more sustainable."
From Science Daily ● Nov. 27, 2025
I don't mind reusing a towel, but if they're charging that much for a hotel, I want my sheets changed every day.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
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.
