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rewrite

[verb ree-rahyt; noun ree-rahyt]
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verb (used with object), re·wrote, re·writ·ten, re·writ·ing.
  1. to write in a different form or manner; revise: to rewrite the entire book.
  2. to write again.
  3. to write (news submitted by a reporter) for inclusion in a newspaper.
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noun
  1. the news story rewritten.
  2. something written in a different form or manner; revision: They loved the rewrite, and said it would be a blockbuster!
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Origin of rewrite

First recorded in 1560–70; re- + write
Related formsre·writ·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

edit, rework, rephrase, reword, recast, redraft

Examples from the Web for rewrite

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Lieutenant Willis, you will see each of the men and tell them they must rewrite their letters.

    The Long Roll

    Mary Johnston

  • These two sentences are so faulty that the only way to mend them is to rewrite them.

    The Verbalist

    Thomas Embly Osmun, (AKA Alfred Ayres)

  • "Grab a typewriter and rewrite these," he said, handing the clippings to John.

    Spring Street

    James H. Richardson

  • In the mornings he was given a few short clippings to rewrite and that was all.

    Spring Street

    James H. Richardson

  • "I shall have to ask you to rewrite that last page," she said regretfully.

    Mary Ware's Promised Land

    Annie Fellows Johnston

British Dictionary definitions for rewrite

rewrite

verb (riːˈraɪt) -writes, -writing, -wrote or -written (tr)
  1. to write (written material) again, esp changing the words or form
  2. computing to return (data) to a store when it has been erased during reading
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noun (ˈriːˌraɪt)
  1. something rewritten
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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

Word Origin and History for rewrite

v.

"to write again," 1560s, from re- "back, again" + write (v.). Related: Rewrote; rewritten; rewriting. Journalistic rewrite man is recorded from 1901. As a noun from 1926.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper