rebuild

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɹiːˈbɪld/^[1]

Etymology

It is from English re- + build, re- meaning back or again.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To build up again what has been demolished: about 1600, implied in rebuilding, in Etymonline;^[2] Merriam-Webster dates an intransitive use to the 15th century.^[3] The OED's first quotation for the transitive verb is from 1611.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The noun, an act of rebuilding or a thing rebuilt, is from 1692.^[4] Modern senses include making extensive structural repairs and restoring a system or situation to its former state, as in rebuilding one's life.^[5][6]

Timeline

• 15th century – rebuild (Merriam-Webster).^[3]
• c. 1600 – rebuilding.^[2]
• 1611 – to build again.^[4]
• 1692 – a rebuild (noun).^[4]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To build again something that was damaged or destroyed; to reconstruct.
2. To make extensive repairs or changes to.
3. To restore to a former condition: rebuild his life.

Word family

• rebuildable
• rebuildability
• rebuilder

Related words

• prebuild
• build
• building

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins