reconstruct

verb

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re·con·struct | \ ˌrē-kən-ˈstrəkt

reconstructed; reconstructing; reconstructs

Definition of reconstruct

transitive verb

1 : to construct again: such as

a : to build or assemble (something) again reconstruct a damaged chimney

b medical : to subject (an organ or part) to surgery to re-form its structure or correct a defect an athlete with a surgically reconstructed shoulder

2a : to re-create or reimagine (something from the past) especially by using information acquired through research reconstructing a lost civilization The solution is to reconstruct the vocabularies of vanished ancient languages (so-called protolanguages) by comparing vocabularies of modern languages derived from them.— Jared Diamond

b : to create an accurate reenactment or understanding of (a past occurrence or event, such as an accident) by applying scientific principles and techniques to physical evidence McDaniel hired the firm to reconstruct a fiery collision in Limestone County several years ago in which two young women were killed when their car was engulfed in flames.— John Peck

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Examples of reconstruct in a Sentence

After the earthquake, many houses needed to be reconstructed. Archaeologists were able to reconstruct most of the ancient village from their findings. They are attempting to reconstruct the events that led to the bridge's collapse.

Recent Examples on the Web When volunteers are injected with these particles, their cells use the mRNA to reconstruct a noninfectious fragment of the virus, allowing their immune system to prepare antibodies that neutralize it. — Ed Yong, The Atlantic, "How Science Beat the Virus," 17 Dec. 2020 From that data, the neural network could reconstruct the collisions that assembled the galaxies. — Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, "The New History of the Milky Way," 15 Dec. 2020 Phylodynamic approaches reconstruct how a pathogen spreads and evolves over time by analyzing its genes. — Jason Bittel, Animals, "Gruesome cancer afflicting Tasmanian devils may be waning, a hopeful sign," 10 Dec. 2020 Sara helped Missy reconstruct Maureen's last weekend. — Erin Moriarty, CBS News, "Inside the mind of a murderer: New clues in the hunt for the Long Island serial killer," 12 Dec. 2020 Samples were obtained from the people with active infections, and the entire genome was sequenced, allowing the researchers to reconstruct its evolutionary history. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Dutch scientists reconstruct spread of coronavirus through mink farms," 10 Nov. 2020 From lamps constructed after melting Napoleon Bonaparte's war cannons to the numbers etched on the stones to tell workers how to reconstruct the bridge, a stroll along the bridge is a walk through history. — Melissa Yeager, The Arizona Republic, "Need to unplug after the election? 6 road-trip ideas for Arizonans who could use a getaway," 4 Nov. 2020 Ambrose plans to install two turn lanes and widen Seward Road at Mercantile Drive and reconstruct Northpointe Drive from the southeast corner of the site to Distribution Circle, according to plans on file with the city. — Sue Kiesewetter, The Enquirer, "Tax deal will help Fairfield Commerce Park development," 28 Nov. 2020 The two researchers attempted to reconstruct in a lab the conditions that existed on Earth when life arose. — Tim Flannery, The New York Review of Books, "In the Soup," 17 Nov. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'reconstruct.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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