retread

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   To replace the traction-providing surface of a vehicle that employs tires, tracks or…

   To replace the traction-providing surface of a vehicle that employs tires, tracks or treads.

2. 2

   To renew the tread of a tyre, providing a cheaper alternative to buying a new tyre, but…

   To renew the tread of a tyre, providing a cheaper alternative to buying a new tyre, but potentially introducing a risk of premature failure if performed improperly.

3. 3

   A used tire whose surface, the tread, has been replaced to extend its life and use.

4. ›+ 3 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      A person who re-entered military service in World War II after serving in World War I.

      • In Our War the Retreads usually slinked in over-aged, over-weight and overcautious in the face of a new generation.
      • They were retreads and recruits under a small cadre of Regular Army officers and noncoms.
      • We retreads upset everybody.
   2. 5

      To tread again, to walk along again, to follow a path again.

   3. 6

      A return over ground previously covered

      A return over ground previously covered; a retraversal or repetition.

      • But The West Side Waltz is otherwise a tedious retread of Mr. Thompson's previous effort, On Golden Pond.
      • It uses a howitzer to shoot drugged fish in a barrel, inserts flabby lite-surrealism where the comedy might otherwise go and the plot turns out to be a retread of JM Barrie’s stage-play The Admirable Crichton.

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