reexamine

American  

[ree-ig-zam-in] / ˌri ɪgˈzæm ɪn /

Or re-examine

verb (used with object)

reexamined, reexamining

1. to examine again.

2. Law. to examine (a witness) again after having questioned them previously.

---

Other Word Forms

• reexaminable adjective
• reexamination noun
• reexaminer noun

Etymology

Origin of reexamine

First recorded in 1585–95; re- + examine

Explanation

To reexamine something is to consider or inspect it again. A detective might need to go back and reexamine the scene of a crime several times during her investigation. A scientist who's studying an unfamiliar bacteria will examine it, and then reexamine it again and again. And, if you still have an earache a week after starting antibiotics, your doctor may want to reexamine you. Whenever you take another careful look at something, you reexamine it. The verb reexamine adds the "again" prefix re- to examine, from the Latin examinare, "to test, try, consider, or ponder."

Example Sentences

If the discussion sparked by Anthropic’s CEO and other AI pioneers leads scientists and the public to reexamine longstanding assumptions about mind and awareness, it may mark the beginning of a much broader intellectual shift.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

Again, all communities have that right to reexamine the past.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

The current rescheduling push dates back to October of 2022, when former President Joe Biden directed the Department of Health and Human Services to reexamine cannabis’s scheduling status.

From Salon • Feb. 6, 2026

The findings also encourage researchers to reexamine older treatment strategies.

From Science Daily • Dec. 22, 2025

The state continued trying to execute Mr. Hinton until we won a ruling in the United States Supreme Court in 2015 that required the prosecutors to finally reexamine the evidence.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Related Words

• reconsider
• review