retool

retool

English

Etymology

    From re- + tool.

    Pronunciation

    • enPR: rē-to͞ol, IPA(key): /riːˈtuːl/
      • Audio (US):(file)
    • (Scotland, Northern Ireland) IPA(key): /riˈtʉl/
    • Rhymes: -uːl

    Verb

    retool (third-person singular simple present retools, present participle retooling, simple past and past participle retooled)

    1. (transitive) To adjust; to optimize; to rebuild.
      He decided it was time to retool last year's marketing brochure.
      • 2023 May 6, James Poniewozik, “Charles III Was Crowned King. But Can He Ever Be the Star?”, in The New York Times[1]:
        The coronation of a British ruler is, of course, a political ritual and a religious ceremony. But it is also, as the crowning of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 established, a TV show. It’s an anachronistic assertion of divine right retooled to recognize that, in the electronic era, even hereditary rulers have to argue their relevance.

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