rewire

verb

re·​wire (ˌ)rē-ˈwī(-ə)r How to pronounce rewire (audio)
rewired; rewiring

transitive verb

1
: to provide or connect (something) with wire again
especially : to replace the electrical wiring of (something, such as a building or electronic device)
rewired the house
rewire a circuit board
2
: to make lasting and usually beneficial changes to the neurological or psychological functioning of (a person or brain)
not used technically
The injured brain, moreover, can rewire itself.Joan Didion
Not only do studies show that meditation is boosting their immune system, but brain scans suggest that it may be rewiring their brains to reduce stress.Joel Stein
… nearly nine out of 10 adult smokers started smoking by age 18; nicotine can rewire youths' brains, making heroin and other opioids even more addictive.Delia DeRiggiWhitton
Can you rewire yourself? I went back through pivotal points in my life, when one should be happy.Kim Korson

Examples of rewire in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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By embracing language learning, individuals can harness the brain's remarkable ability to rewire and strengthen neural connections, leading to enhanced cognitive function and a multitude of benefits. John Werner, Forbes.com, 26 Apr. 2025 The film lays bare what many parents already know: Social media is rewiring their children’s brains, creating a generation of short attention spans and social anxiety. Parmy Olson, Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2025 The result is a dizzyingly complicated network that is in a constant state of flux, rewiring itself on the fly in response to its environment and the life experience of its owner. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 17 Apr. 2025 These neurons can rewire themselves in response to real-time inputs, offering the potential to process vision tasks and accelerate large language models with far greater energy efficiency than conventional chips. Jaime Catmull, Forbes.com, 10 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for rewire

Word History

First Known Use

1881, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of rewire was in 1881

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Cite this Entry

“Rewire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rewire. Accessed 1 May. 2025.

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