retrofit

verb

ret·​ro·​fit ˈre-trō-ˌfit  ˌre-trō-ˈfit 

retrofitted or retrofit; retrofitting; retrofits

transitive verb

1

: to furnish (something, such as a computer, airplane, or building) with new or modified parts or equipment not available or considered necessary at the time of manufacture

2

: to install (new or modified parts or equipment) in something previously manufactured or constructed

3

: to adapt to a new purpose or need : modify

retrofit the story for a new audience

retrofit

ˈre-trō-ˌfit 

noun

Did you know?

The concept of retrofitting became an urgent necessity during World War II, when weapons technology was advancing at an intense pace and planes and ships were becoming outdated even before their construction was complete, and the only solution was to retrofit the completed craft with the brand-new technology. Retrofitting was revived on a massive scale during the energy crisis of the 1970s, when new features were added to millions of old houses to make them more energy-efficient. Retrofitting is thus different from merely renovating, which may not involve any new technology at all.

Examples of retrofit in a Sentence

The factory has been retrofitted to meet the new safety regulations.

We can retrofit your car with the new fuel system.

Recent Examples on the Web

Building that boundary in from the start is generally easier than retrofitting it after an incident. — Eshaan Jain, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026

Another technological difference is that, unlike Waymo, Zoox is building its robotaxi from the ground up instead of retrofitting an existing car. — Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026

The human question As far as human spaceflight goes, SpaceX has been narrowly focused on retrofitting Starship for a multibillion-dollar NASA contact to ferry government astronauts to the moon amid a space race with China. — Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2026

The technology could eventually be used to retrofit older gas turbines. — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 28 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for retrofit

• candlelit
• counterfeit
• hypocrite
• resubmit
• acquit
• admit
• armpit
• backlit
• befit
• cockpit
• commit
• dalit

Kids Definition

retrofit

verb

ret·​ro·​fit ˈre-trō-ˌfit 

: to install (new or modified parts or equipment) in something previously manufactured or constructed