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rearrange

B1
verb

Pronunciation

UK

  • /rˌiːərˈeɪndʒ/

US

  • /ˌriərˈeɪndʒ/

Description

Imagine your bedroom after a particularly enthusiastic play session – toys everywhere. To rearrange it means to put things back in order, but not necessarily where they started! It's about changing the position or order of things. You might rearrange furniture for a fresh look, rearrange your schedule to fit in an important meeting, or even rearrange your thoughts to solve a tricky problem. Sometimes rearranging is simple tidying; other times, it's a complete overhaul. Think of a deck of cards – shuffling them rearranges their order, but doesn't change the cards themselves.

Examples

  1. 1

    Furniture layout

    We rearranged the living room so the sofa faced the window.

  2. 2

    Phone apps

    You can rearrange the apps on your phone by dragging the icons.

  3. 3

    Classroom seating

    The teacher rearranged the seating plan after two students kept talking.

  4. 4

    Meeting time

    Could we rearrange our meeting for Friday afternoon?

    • Pattern

      rearrange + meeting/appointment

      move it to a different time

  5. 5

    Weekly plans

    When the train strike was announced, she had to rearrange her whole week.

  6. 6

    Article structure

    The editor rearranged the paragraphs to make the article easier to follow.

Forms and spellings

4 forms open this card.

Main spelling

  • rearrangeverb

Forms

  • rearrangedpast tenseverb
  • rearranging-ing formverb
  • rearrangesverb