recreate

1 of 2

verb (1)

rec·​re·​ate ˈre-krē-ˌāt How to pronounce recreate (audio)
recreated; recreating; recreates

transitive verb

: to give new life or freshness to : refresh
supporters of preservation hope to recreate the architectural splendor that the old movie theater had when it first opened
… it became late enough to suggest tea. We had got through one brew, and the three great minds were recreating themselves with cake, when there came another knock at the door …G. Dosset

intransitive verb

: to take recreation
an old summer resort where families have been recreating for over a century
recreative adjective

re-create

2 of 2

verb (2)

re-cre·​ate ˌrē-krē-ˈāt How to pronounce re-create (audio)
variants or recreate
re-created or recreated; re-creating or recreating; re-creates

transitive verb

: to create again
especially : to form anew in the imagination
re-creatable adjective
re-creation noun
re-creative adjective
re-creator noun

Examples of recreate in a Sentence

Verb (2) The movie set re-creates a London street of 1895. The scene of the crime was re-created based upon police photographs.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The Dutch artist, who has never visited Mexico, was not satisfied with only re-creating the center of the capital of the empire. WIRED, 17 Sep. 2023 Original molding was painstakingly adjusted or re-created. Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 15 Sep. 2023 The network spent an additional $1.9 million to re-create the TV home where America came to know Mike, Carol, Greg, Marcia, Peter, Jan, Bobby and Cindy Brady. Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2023 The Toy Story game will take that several steps further, re-creating every play in nearly real time with a big assist from player-tracking technology provided by the NFL’s Next Gen Stats and Beyond Sports. Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Sep. 2023 Also on display is a copy of Kennedy’s wedding dress, which was painstakingly re-created by a University of Delaware professor, Katya Roelse, and three students. Rachel Tashjian, Washington Post, 9 Sep. 2023 By re-creating a womb-like environment, swaddling a baby can help soothe them to sleep more soundly for longer. Samson McDougall, Parents, 8 Sep. 2023 In fact, our colleagues at Delish even attempted to re-create it. House Beautiful, 7 Sep. 2023 A lot of live performances in pop music are trying to re-create the experience of listening to the album, Provenzano said. Ada Tseng, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'recreate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English recreaten, borrowed from Latin recreāre "to make new, restore, revive" — more at recreation

Verb (2)

re- + create entry 1

First Known Use

Verb (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Verb (2)

1587, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of recreate was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near recreate

Cite this Entry

“Recreate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recreate. Accessed 23 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

recreate

1 of 2 verb
rec·​re·​ate ˈrek-rē-ˌāt How to pronounce recreate (audio)
recreated; recreating
1
: to give new life or freshness to
2
: to take recreation
recreative
-ˌāt-iv
adjective

re-create

2 of 2 verb
re-cre·​ate
ˌrē-krē-ˈāt
: to create again especially in the imagination
re-creation
-ˈā-shən
noun
re-creative
-ˈāt-iv
adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on recreate

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