rewire
/ɹiːˈwaɪə(ɹ)/verb, noun
rewire is spelled R-E-W-I-R-E: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,108th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, rewire means “To replace or reconnect the wires of a device or installation” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in rewire?
| Letters | 6: R-E-W-I-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 56,108th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is rewire?
Rewire appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,108th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce rewire?
- /ɹiːˈwaɪə(ɹ)/
As a noun (“The act of replacing the wires of something”): /ˈɹiːwaɪə(ɹ)/.
Rewire has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-rewire.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-rewire2.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of rewire
- rewires present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- rewiring participle, present
- rewired participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rewire mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To replace or reconnect the wires of a device or installation.
I had to rewire the circuit where the old wires had shorted out.
- 2
To change the functionality of something by altering the parameters or logic.
When our companies merged, I rewired our payment processing system to handle their invoices as well.
noun
- 1
The act of replacing the wires of something.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Rewire in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to reconfigure wiring:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | recâbler |
| Spanish | recablear |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does rewire come from?
From re- + wire.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).