rearrange

verb

re·​ar·​range ˌrē-ə-ˈrānj How to pronounce rearrange (audio)
rearranged; rearranging

transitive verb

: to arrange (something or someone) again in a different way
rearranged the flowers on the table
rearrange the furniture
I rearranged my hair/clothes/glasses.
… anagrams, which are words or phrases rearranged to form different words or phrases.Carolyn Phelan
… massaging his knees while he talks, frequently rearranging himself into a more comfortable position.Daniel Ross
Sarah is more or less grimacing now …. In a minute, she'll rearrange her face to look cheerful.Aurelie Sheehan
rearranging their lives … to go back to school, to get the education that was denied them or that they did not want when they were young.Ruth Dorgan
… thousands of people had to cancel or rearrange their travel plans.Ken Young

Examples of rearrange in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Interrupt your patterns, rearrange your routines, and shock your system. Jodie Cook, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 An employee rearranged the items to prevent cross-contamination. Michael Braga, The Arizona Republic, 28 Feb. 2024 But later in the day, the folding chairs were rearranged into a message of hope. Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 16 Feb. 2024 Slowly but surely, Moscow will absorb new ideas from the battlefield and rearrange its tactics accordingly. Mick Ryan, Foreign Affairs, 5 Feb. 2024 And, naturally, no one wanted to face long commutes again or rearrange their lives. John Purcell, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024 While everyone around him begins rearranging their lives—including quitting their jobs and leaving their spouses—to suit their Morpho predictions, local school teacher Dusty Hubbard (Chris O’Dowd) feels like the last sane man to not buy into the machine’s predictions. Jennifer M. Wood, WIRED, 25 Dec. 2023 Eons later, the strip of water got sealed off when the Earth’s tectonic plates rearranged, smashing the continents together into Pangea. Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Feb. 2024 The timeline of stone tool development by humans has been rearranged by new research, shaking up traditional views about the evolution of ancient human ingenuity. Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 7 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rearrange.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1778, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of rearrange was in 1778

Dictionary Entries Near rearrange

Cite this Entry

“Rearrange.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rearrange. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

rearrange

verb
re·​ar·​range
ˌrē-ə-ˈrānj
: to arrange again usually in a different way
rearranged the furniture
rearrangement noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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