English Reference
verb · noun

rewind

v. · n.
US /ˈɹiwaɪnd/ rewind UK spelling rewinds

  1. 01 B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

    v.to go back or think back to a time in the past.

    v.to mentally or narratively return to a previous point in time or a previous stage of a conversation.

    Simple

    Let's rewind for a second and look at what happened before the accident.

    In context

    If I could rewind to the start of the year, I would have made very different investment choices.

    Teacher's tip

    Commonly used in meetings or storytelling to clarify a point that was missed earlier.

  2. 02 C1 Advanced Technical

    v.to wind something up a second time.

    v.to wind a physical object, such as a spring or a spool, again.

    Simple

    The technician had to rewind the copper coil to fix the motor.

    In context

    After the spring snapped, the clockmaker had to carefully rewind the mechanism to ensure the tension was correct.

    re coil
  3. 03 B1 Intermediate

    n.the act of going back in a recording, or the button you press to do it.

    n.the function, mechanism, or act of reversing media playback.

    Simple

    I missed that last sentence; can you give it a quick rewind?

    In context

    The remote control was so worn that the rewind button no longer responded to touch.


From re- + wind.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level B1 · Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated