rewind

American  

[ree-wahynd, ree-wahynd] / riˈwaɪnd, ˈriˌwaɪnd /

verb (used with or without object)

rewound, rewinded, rewinding

1. to wind again.

2. to wind back to or toward the beginning; reverse.

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noun

1. an act or instance of rewinding.

2. Recording.

   1. a function of an audio or video recorder or player, as a cassette deck or DVR, that returns the audio or video incrementally to an earlier point.

   2. the button or other control that activates this reversing function.

3. a camera control or mechanism used to wind film back into a film cassette.

rewind British  

verb

1. (tr) to wind back, esp a film or tape onto the original reel

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noun

1. something rewound

2. the act of rewinding

Other Word Forms

• rewinder noun

Etymology

Origin of rewind

First recorded in 1710–20; re- + wind ²

Example Sentences

To rewind the tape, the court held that the NCAA’s restrictions on education-related benefits for student athletes violated federal antitrust laws.

From The Wall Street Journal

This fantasy chat plays out in all its white cluelessness as the sitcom rewinds and repeats on mute.

From Los Angeles Times

We can’t rewind the tape without the war to see if its warning was valid.

From The Wall Street Journal

I wish I could rewind to last weekend so I could study even harder, stay even more focused, refuse to take a break when Mom insisted.

From Literature

This will be a tale of crime and punishment told in flashback, rewinding to Becket’s mother, an heiress excised from an eleven-figure fortune for giving birth as an unwed teenager.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• back up
• reverse
• undo