rewilding

American  

[ree-wahyl-ding] / riˈwaɪl dɪŋ /

noun

1. the process of introducing animals or plants to their original habitat or one similar.

2. the process of returning land to an earlier, more natural state.

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rewilding British  

/ riːˈwaɪldɪŋ /

noun

1. the practice of returning areas of land to a wild state, including the reintroduction of animal species that are no longer naturally found there

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Etymology

Origin of rewilding

First recorded in 1990–95; rewild ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rewilding

The project draws upon the group's Hop of Hope citizen rewilding programme, which has helped restore more than 8,000 large marsh grasshoppers to wetlands in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire since 2018.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

Eoghan Daltun has been rewilding his own farm and restoring temperate rainforests privately for the past 17 years.

From BBC ● May 25, 2026

Last June, 10 white storks were released in North Devon, in south-west England as part of a long-term rewilding.

From BBC ● May 10, 2026

But David Stanners, Uplands North Group Chair at the NFU, says it's possible for the rewilding lobby and the farmers to find common ground.

From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2026

For a decade, researchers have been working to reintroduce 12 other endemic species to Floreana as part of a rewilding program.

From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026