reverse engineering

American  

[ri-vurs en-juh-neer-ing] / rɪˈvɜrs ˌɛn dʒəˈnɪər ɪŋ /

noun

1. the process of deconstructing and analyzing a device, a piece of software, or some other product, in order to understand its design or function and be able to produce something similar.

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Example Sentences

“So it was kind of reverse engineering what shopping centers had been for decades.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026

“People have built up this story in their minds, with an expectation that there’s some stockpile of documents that detail alien landings and reverse engineering, and there isn’t,” Kirkpatrick said in an interview.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2026

Bioengineering researcher Dr. Anirban Paul, first author of the paper, used reverse engineering to find a solution.

From Science Daily • Feb. 5, 2024

This reverse engineering has turned up a surprising list of ingredients that were mixed into old buildings — materials such as tree bark, volcanic ash, rice, beer and even urine.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 2, 2023

In telling the story, Bunnie has also created a kind of Bible for reverse engineering and hardware hacking.

From Little Brother by Doctorow, Cory