rewrite

1 of 2

verb

re·​write (ˌ)rē-ˈrīt How to pronounce rewrite (audio)

transitive verb

1
: to write in reply
2
: to make a revision of (something, such as a story) : cause to be revised: such as
a
: to put (contributed material) into form for publication
b
: to alter (previously published material) for use in another publication

intransitive verb

: to revise something previously written
rewriter noun

rewrite

2 of 2

noun

re·​write ˈrē-ˌrīt How to pronounce rewrite (audio)
1
: a piece of writing (such as a news story) constructed by rewriting
2
: an act or instance of rewriting

Examples of rewrite in a Sentence

Verb The teacher asked him to rewrite the essay. I had to rewrite the computer program.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Doug Thompson, arkansasonline.com, 20 Mar. 2024 The next time that a script landed in her inbox, the character of Jin — originally of Chinese descent — was rewritten to reflect Hong’s New Zealand background and accent. Seija Rankin, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2024 There are arguments for provisional licensing or calls for the association to gather a more diverse group of social workers to rewrite the test to reflect real-life scenarios, rather than classroom theory. Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2024 And the process of taking the House bill and potentially rewriting it to suit the Senate could be time consuming. Sapna Maheshwari, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2024 The pair rewrote the story to submit to traditional publishers. Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 16 Mar. 2024 His government has set out to rewrite school history textbooks to portray Russia as perpetually defending itself against outside enemies and to link the war in Ukraine to the Soviet Union’s victory in the Second World War. Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2024 Luckily, Wiggins, like me, has an opportunity to rewrite. Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 The Digital Markets Act (DMA), the new European Union rules that aim to rewrite how business is done online by regulating how the world’s biggest tech companies operate, take effect today, Thursday, March 7. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024
Noun
That came about in a drastic rewrite right at the end. Lauren Huff, EW.com, 15 Mar. 2024 If their comments do not align with the messages intended, a rewrite is in order to achieve success. Richard Torrenzano, Fortune, 31 Jan. 2024 That played a huge role in me developing the character and doing my prep, and finding Ana was part of the rewrite process and bringing on two of my friends — one of which is my co-producer’s brother, Justin Matthews, and his writing partner, Luke Spencer Roberts. Emily Longeretta, Variety, 9 Feb. 2024 All of those initiatives would likely get a rewrite under a Republican president. Laura Davison, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2024 For example, before Christmas, Reddit made some pretty big changes which necessitated a painful rewrite of a few features. Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 1 Feb. 2024 While its original 1981 Broadway run was promptly cut short after just 16 performances, subsequent rewrites, new song additions, and off-Broadway productions have solidified Merrily's status as a cult classic of sorts within the pantheon of Sondheim's works. Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 10 Oct. 2023 Behind the scenes, The Idol experienced its own power shift with the departure of original director Amy Seimetz, leading to extensive rewrites and reshoots under Levinson’s purview. Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 6 Dec. 2023 The rewrite put Ernest and his wife, Mollie (Gladstone), at the center of the story. Zack Sharf, Variety, 11 Sep. 2023

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

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

1567, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1901, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of rewrite was in 1567

Dictionary Entries Near rewrite

Cite this Entry

“Rewrite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rewrite. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

rewrite

1 of 2 verb
re·​write (ˈ)rē-ˈrīt How to pronounce rewrite (audio)
rewrote -ˈrōt How to pronounce rewrite (audio) ; rewritten -ˈrit-ən How to pronounce rewrite (audio) ; rewriting -ˈrīt-ing How to pronounce rewrite (audio)
: to write over again : revise
rewriter
-ˈrīt-ər
noun

rewrite

2 of 2 noun
re·​write ˈrē-ˌrīt How to pronounce rewrite (audio)
: something rewritten
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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