rewind

1 of 2

verb

re·​wind (ˌ)rē-ˈwīnd How to pronounce rewind (audio)
rewound (ˌ)rē-ˈwau̇nd How to pronounce rewind (audio) ; rewinding

transitive verb

: to wind again
especially : to reverse the winding of
rewind film

rewind

2 of 2

noun

re·​wind ˈrē-ˌwīnd How to pronounce rewind (audio)
(ˌ)rē-ˈwīnd
1
: something that rewinds or is rewound
2
: an act of rewinding
3
: a function of an electronic device that reverses a recording to a previous portion

Examples of rewind in a Sentence

Verb Rewind the tape so that we can hear that song again.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The dog returns to earth thanks to a magic watch that can be rewound. Matt Keenan, Kansas City Star, 6 Feb. 2024 Those enzymes might just be the knob that helps researchers rewind the evolutionary clock to decipher how the earliest metabolisms came to be. Quanta Magazine, 4 Jan. 2024 This isn’t a record-scratch-freeze-frame situation, either; in the six episodes provided to critics in advance, Hawley doesn’t rewind to show us how a planning meeting for a fall festival broke out into a brawl where a mother and a math teacher, among many others, come to blows. Alison Herman, Variety, 21 Nov. 2023 No need to wait till the midnight hour to prepare for the time change that clocks in early Sunday, when 2 a.m. becomes 1 a.m. Before bed beckons Saturday night, rewind the clock on the microwave, oven, car, or any other device not yet clever enough to make the leap on its own. Claire Savage, Fortune Well, 3 Nov. 2023 Concerned that users might want to pause a program to rewind, fast-forward, or even change settings on the service, executives opted to wait five seconds between the initial pause and the time a commercial appears on screen, Helfand says. Brian Steinberg, Variety, 23 Oct. 2023 When astronomers catch a glimpse of an unusual signal in the sky, perhaps the light from a star exploding, Stevance takes that signal and rewinds the clock on it by billions of years. Sophia Chen, Ars Technica, 13 Feb. 2023 Some data labelers would rewind such clips and play them in slow motion. Reuters, NBC News, 6 Apr. 2023 Recall allows players to essentially rewind time for a specific object. Gene Park, Washington Post, 26 Apr. 2023
Noun
The Internet demands to know: did Sydney Sweeney fabricate parts of her inspiring backstory? Let’s rewind. Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Feb. 2024 Football rewind Narbonne rallied for a 22-21 win over Banning in a game that was marred by a post-game fight. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2023 Football rewind The semifinals produced some memorable games and performances, none better than St. John Bosco holding on for a 43-42 win over Corona Centennial. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2023 Basketball rewind Mercy Miller of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame set a school record for most points in a game by scoring 68 points in a win over Oakwood. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2023 The surfer-school matchups: Corona del Mar-San Clemente, Edison-Palos Verdes and Redondo Union-Huntington Beach. Football rewind One of the most improved teams is Santa Monica, which went 2-8 last season but has started 3-0 after a 28-9 win over West Torrance. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2023 Football rewind Gardena Serra running back Cincere Rhaney put on a show in his team’s 38-28 win over Los Alamitos with 203 yards rushing. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 13 Nov. 2023 Football rewind Gardena is suddenly very much in the Marine League title hunt after a 12-7 win over San Pedro, its first win over the Pirates since 2004. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2023 That does silicon’s usual thing of reducing friction and wear-and-tear and means that despite the demands placed on it, the movement will keep going for 68 hours without a rewind. Robin Swithinbank, Robb Report, 21 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rewind.' 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

Verb

1717, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1926, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of rewind was in 1717

Dictionary Entries Near rewind

Cite this Entry

“Rewind.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rewind. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

rewind

1 of 2 verb
re·​wind rē-ˈwīnd How to pronounce rewind (audio)
rewound -ˈwau̇nd How to pronounce rewind (audio) ; rewinding
: to wind again
especially : to reverse the winding of (as a video tape)

rewind

2 of 2 noun
re·​wind ˈrē-ˌwīnd How to pronounce rewind (audio)
: a function of an electronic device that reverses a recording to a previous portion

More from Merriam-Webster on rewind

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!