rebuild
Americanverb (used with object)
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to repair, especially to dismantle and reassemble with new parts.
to rebuild an old car.
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to replace, restrengthen, or reinforce.
to rebuild an army.
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to revise, reshape, or reorganize.
to rebuild a shattered career.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to make, construct, or form again
the cost of rebuilding the house
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(tr) to restore (a system or situation) to a previous condition
his struggle to rebuild his life
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rebuild
Explanation
When you construct something again, you rebuild it. If the chair you made from scraps of wood collapses when you sit in it, you can either rebuild it or give up on the idea of making your own furniture. When a natural disaster — like a hurricane or a tornado — destroys people's houses, they usually need the community's help to rebuild them. Before modern fire departments existed, several cities in the United States burned in terrible fires, destroying nearly all the homes and businesses. These cities had to rebuild, which they often did using less flammable materials, like bricks, rather than just wood.
Vocabulary lists containing rebuild
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.
Both sides will rebuild in the summer, with Chelsea needing a striker to replace Kerr.
From BBC • May 16, 2026
It also helps them rebuild the world these ancient hominins inhabited.
From Science Daily • May 16, 2026
Phil Anschutz needs to rebuild the entire organization, starting with firing Luc Robitaille.
From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2026
Iran’s navy won’t be able to rebuild for 5-10 years or reach its prior level “for a generation,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
During the rebuild, Dad wanted to include pieces of the house they’d lost, so he insisted on using all the intact bricks he’d managed to save when they cleared the rubble.
From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake
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.
