retool

[ ree-tool ]

verb (used with object)

1. to replace or rearrange the tools and machinery of (a factory).
2. to reorganize or rearrange, usually for the purpose of updating:

   to retool the industrial organization.

verb (used without object)

1. to replace or rearrange the tools of a factory.
2. to replace the stamping machinery of a factory, especially to make a remodeled product.

retool

/ riːˈtuːl /

verb

1. to replace, re-equip, or rearrange the tools in (a factory, etc)
2. to revise or reorganize

Other Words From

• re·toola·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of retool¹

First recorded in 1935–40; re- + tool

Example Sentences

Proposition 36 aims to retool parts of Proposition 47, a measure voters overwhelmingly passed in 2014 on the promise to relieve California’s overcrowded prisons by reclassifying some non-violent offenses from felonies to misdemeanors.

From Los Angeles Times

Voters won’t have a verdict on Trump’s Jan. 6 behavior, but Jack Smith’s retooled indictment is a potent reminder: If the former president doesn’t win in November, he will be held accountable.

From Los Angeles Times

They are now having to retool against Vice President Harris, who is truly a historic figure as the first Black and South Asian woman to be a major political party’s presidential nominee.

From Salon

There’s hardly any creative form that hasn’t been declared dead only to come sneaking or roaring back in some retooled but spiritually similar form.

From Los Angeles Times

U.S. officials say they are retooling their approach to combat an insurgency that is rooted in local, not global, concerns.

From New York Times

Related Words

• fix
• fix up
• modernize
• overhaul
• reassemble
• rebuild
• recreate
• reestablish
• regenerate
• rehabilitate
• rejuvenate
• remake
• remodel
• renovate
• repair
• reproduce
• restore
• revamp
• rework