rebuild
Americanverb (used with object)
-
rebuilds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rebuilt,
past participle, past
-
rebuilded,
past participle, past (Archaic)
-
rebuilding
present participle
-
to repair, especially to dismantle and reassemble with new parts.
to rebuild an old car.
-
to replace, restrengthen, or reinforce.
to rebuild an army.
-
to revise, reshape, or reorganize.
to rebuild a shattered career.
verb (used without object)
-
rebuilds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rebuilt,
past participle, past
-
rebuilded,
past participle, past (Archaic)
-
rebuilding
present participle
verb
-
to make, construct, or form again
the cost of rebuilding the house
-
(tr) to restore (a system or situation) to a previous condition
his struggle to rebuild his life
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
rebuildsimple
-
rebuildssimple
-
have rebuildedperfect
-
have rebuiltperfect
-
has rebuildedperfect
-
has rebuiltperfect
-
am rebuildingprogressive
-
are rebuildingprogressive
-
is rebuildingprogressive
-
have been rebuildingperfect progressive
-
has been rebuildingperfect progressive
Past
-
rebuildedsimple
-
rebuiltsimple
-
had rebuildedperfect
-
had rebuiltperfect
-
was rebuildingprogressive
-
were rebuildingprogressive
-
had been rebuildingperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
A deal to end the conflict could potentially bring oil prices down, but the market would still have damaged energy facilities and inventories to rebuild, said Louis LaValle, co-founder and chief executive at Frontier Investments.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
Fostering greater collaboration among its research-and-development, medical affairs and commercial teams also contributed to the company’s efforts to rebuild an oncology franchise, he added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
"It's going to take a long time to rebuild the trust" between Mainers and Canadians, said the MECEP's Garrett.
From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026
Farbrace said the county are looking to "rebuild", with the goal of challenging to win the County Championship within three or four years, by which time Anderson will be in his late 40s.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
“You succeeded in your first test, but Pasiphaë intends to rebuild her domain, which will endanger all demigods. Unless you stop her at the House of Hades...”
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Rebels led by HTS overthrew long-time Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, with the group's leader Ahmed al-Sharaa taking over as president as the country rebuilds after more than 13 years of civil war.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
Instead, Ted’s emphasis on personal growth and camaraderie rebuilds the Greyhounds from their league’s demoralized joke into its comeback kings, powered by their yearning to Believe.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026
The findings support a broader model in which fresh magma gradually enters and rebuilds reservoirs beneath giant calderas after major eruptions.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
Raman, a Los Angeles City Council member, called for further streamlining of the permitting process for rebuilds as well, including by creating a wide set of preapproved, fire-resistant building plans.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
By the early nineties, a scientist at Yale had used HeLa to discover that human cancer cells contain an enzyme called telomerase that rebuilds their telomeres.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
When the house on Third and Cumberland was burnt, he rebuilded it, and the owners charged him such rent he had to move.
From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Arkansas Narratives, Part 7 by Work Projects Administration
Nevertheless, 'In the Market-Place of Bruges stands the Belfry old and brown; Thrice consumed and thrice rebuilded, still it watches o'er the town.'
From Bruges and West Flanders by Amédée Forestier
In them days Commandments were mostly done in gilt letters on a black ground, and that's how they were out where I say, before the owld church was rebuilded.
From Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
Only thus are the walls broken down rebuilded.
From Expositions of Holy Scripture Second Kings Chapters VIII to End and Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Esther, Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes by Alexander Maclaren
He had built new bridges by the dozens; purchased and rebuilded cars and locomotives by the hundreds.
From The Story of the Rome, Watertown, and Ogdensburg RailRoad by Edward Hungerford
Betsey Johnson has taken her newly rebuilt Hidden Hills, Calif., home off the market.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
This one is very real: a kind of Vision 2.0, rebuilt by the intelligence agency tasked with saving the New Jersey town Wanda took hostage to shore up her classic family sitcom simulation.
From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2026
“We’ve rebuilt 3 decades of astronomical observations into a single, consistent framework,” Mr. Camilleri said.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
In 2019, they ripped one version out of Brooksville and rebuilt it from scratch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
The body, which was square and large, had been rebuilt and painted red and gold.
From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien
Whatever we make on the sale of the home will go toward rebuilding our savings to give us a cushion for unexpected expenses.
From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026
I met many of the residents within weeks of the disaster, and most were committed to rebuilding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026
Across the U.S., private clubs of all pedigrees—golf, country, city or yacht—are shedding old-money stiffness and rebuilding as multigenerational family playgrounds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
He acknowledged the allegations against him would have "damaged" the public's trust in him and said he was "committed to rebuilding that by acting with as much transparency and accountability as I can".
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
During this period, she had another key rebuilding project on her hands.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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