repurpose

WOTD – 6 June 2011

Alternative forms

re-purpose

Etymology

From re- +‎ purpose.

Pronunciation

(General American) IPA^(key): /ɹiːˈpɝ.pəs/
(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɹiːˈpɜː.pəs/
Audio (General Australian): (file)

Verb

repurpose (third-person singular simple present repurposes, present participle repurposing, simple past and past participle repurposed)

To reuse for a different purpose, on a long-term basis, with or without alteration.
The town common was repurposed as a practice field.

The church was repurposed as a nightclub by lighting changes and removing the pews, but it never opened.
- 2019 October 23, Rail, page 68, photo caption:
  Looking north towards Moorgate, through the new tunnel being built at Bank for southbound Northern Line services. More than half a mile of new tunnels have been excavated, producing nearly 200,000 tonnes of material which is being repurposed as building material in Dartford.
- December 13 2021, Molly Ball, Jeffrey Kluger, Alejandro de la Garza, “Elon Musk: Person of the Year 2021”, in Time Magazine‎:
  Tesla has repurposed the lightweight, energy-dense cells that power its cars for huge grid-scale batteries that provide essential backup for renewables.

Synonyms

(reuse):
(alter): remodel

Translations

reuse with or without alteration — see also alter,‎ convert,‎ transform

Dutch: hergebruiken (nl), inzetten (nl), herbestemmen
Esperanto: aliuzi, reutiligi, ^{(please verify)} aliutiligi
Finnish: kierrättää (fi), ottaa parempaan käyttöön
French: réaffecter (fr), réutiliser (fr), redéfinir (fr)
German: umnutzen (de)
Italian: riutilizzare
Polish: zmieniać przeznaczenie impf, zmienić przeznaczenie pf
Portuguese: reutilizar (pt)
Russian: (somewhat) перенацелить (ru) (perenacelitʹ)
Spanish: reconvertir (es), readaptar, retransformar, reutilizar (es)

English