rewire

verb

re·​wire (ˌ)rē-ˈwī(-ə)r 

rewired; rewiring

transitive verb

1

: to provide or connect (something) with wire again

especially : to replace the electrical wiring of (something, such as a building or electronic device)

rewired the house

rewire a circuit board

2

: to make lasting and usually beneficial changes to the neurological or psychological functioning of (a person or brain)

—not used technically

The injured brain, moreover, can rewire itself.

—Joan Didion

Not only do studies show that meditation is boosting their immune system, but brain scans suggest that it may be rewiring their brains to reduce stress.

—Joel Stein

… nearly nine out of 10 adult smokers started smoking by age 18; nicotine can rewire youths' brains, making heroin and other opioids even more addictive.

—Delia DeRiggiWhitton

Can you rewire yourself? I went back through pivotal points in my life, when one should be happy.

—Kim Korson

Examples of rewire in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Defense tech execs from IBM and Palantir explained the effort to rewire the Pentagon. —Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2025

Accenture is helping clients rewire how the work gets done to take advantage of the technology. —Ayesha Javed, Time, 14 Oct. 2025

That one bass note, dropped three minutes in, that rewires the whole track; that’s our sweet spot. —Alma Rota, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2025

That simple question drove the two engineers to design a system that could turn waste salts back into the acids and bases industry depends on — a way to rewire industrial chemistry so byproducts became feedstocks again. —Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 23 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1881, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for rewire

• briar
• brier
• buyer
• choir
• crier
• cryer
• drier
• dryer
• eyer
• flier
• flyer
• friar