reentry

noun

re·​en·​try (ˌ)rē-ˈen-trē 

1

: a retaking possession

especially : entry by a lessor on leased premises on the tenant's failure to perform the conditions of the lease

2

: a second or new entry

3

: a playing card that will enable a player to regain the lead

4

: the action of reentering the earth's atmosphere after travel in space

Examples of reentry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Our 2,000-strong CVI workforce represents one of the largest reentry programs in the country transitioning people from the justice system into the legal economy. — Arne Duncan, Chicago Tribune, 13 Nov. 2026

Flight controllers may end up needing to bring Ship down in the Pacific Ocean or divert its reentry into the Gulf late into flight. — Andrew Jones, Space.com, 13 Nov. 2026

Dreier says the biggest hurdle for SpaceX in making Starship a rapidly reusable spacecraft is the vehicle's heat shield, the tiles that keep the vehicle from burning up in the atmosphere during reentry. — ABC News, 12 Nov. 2026

If all goes according to plan, SpaceX would face the nail-biting theatrics of guiding the ship back into the thick inner band of Earth’s atmosphere — a process called reentry — on Saturday afternoon. — Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 12 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for reentry

• wintry

Kids Definition

reentry

noun

re·​en·​try (ˈ)rē-ˈen-trē 

1

: a second or new entry

2

: the action of reentering the earth's atmosphere after travel in space

Medical Definition

reentry

noun

re·​en·​try (ˈ)rē-ˈen-trē 

plural reentries

: a cardiac mechanism that is held to explain certain abnormal heart actions (as tachycardia) and that involves the transmission of a wave of depolarization along an alternate pathway when the original pathway is blocked with return of the impulse along the blocked pathway when the alternate pathway is refractory and then transmission along the open pathway resulting in an abnormality

Legal Definition

reentry

noun

re·​en·​try ˌrē-ˈen-trē 

: a retaking possession of property by a lessor or grantor in exercise of the right to do so upon the failure of the lessee or grantee to fulfill a covenant or condition see also power of termination at power sense 2b