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

The Mk21A builds on the design of the older Mk21 reentry vehicle. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 5 Nov. 2026

Some components are expected to survive reentry and may be found sprawled across hemispheres, NASA said. — News Editor, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026

That put much of South and Central America, as well as parts of Africa, Southeast Asia and Australia, in its potential path, but most of the spacecraft’s likely reentry profile was over remote stretches of open ocean. — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 4 Nov. 2026

It was designed to be a modern version of the three-stage Strypi sounding rocket used for for reentry vehicle and anti-missile target tests. — Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 4 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