retool

verb

re·​tool (ˌ)rē-ˈtül 

retooled; retooling; retools

transitive verb

1

: to reequip with tools

2

: reorganize

3

: revise, modify

intransitive verb

: to make especially minor changes or improvements

retool for the future

Examples of retool in a Sentence

The factory has been retooled.

The company is retooling its sales strategies.

The company is retooling for the future.

Recent Examples on the Web

Meanwhile, a dogged undercover CIA agent, Cobra Bubbles (Courtney B. Vance in a role that has been retooled from the one Ving Rhames once voiced) pursues the truth behind Stitch’s origins. —Gregory Nussen, Deadline, 20 May 2025

The Bucks have few draft assets left to retool and few movable contracts. —Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 May 2025

But that is precisely what its founders have done: built a new breed of cop and retooled the social contract between a community and the officers who protect it. —Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 11 May 2025

Although the loss was a tough pill to swallow, the Clippers now have a chance to regroup and retool during the offseason. —Ricardo Klein, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for retool

• ampoule
• bascule
• carpool
• cesspool
• ferrule
• footstool
• guayule
• lobule
• misrule
• preschool
• pustule
• whirlpool

Kids Definition

retool

verb

re·​tool (ˈ)rē-ˈtül 

1

: to equip again with new or different tools

retool a factory

2

: to make changes or improvements to

retool that idea