retread
retread Lexical Profile
retread Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A worn pneumatic tire that has been fitted with a new tread layer to extend its usable life.
"Many commercial trucking fleets use retreads on their trailers to reduce operating costs and minimize rubber waste."
An unoriginal work, idea, or person that has been recycled or brought back into service with little new substance.
"Critics dismissed the summer blockbuster as a unimaginative retread of classic science-fiction tropes."
• verb
To bond a new rubber tread onto the casing of a worn tire.
"The maintenance facility can retread hundreds of commercial aircraft tires each week."
To go over, repeat, or rework familiar ground, themes, or ideas without introducing significant change.
"Rather than exploring fresh policy solutions, the committee's report merely retreads arguments from the previous decade."
To step, walk, or travel along a path or route again.
"During their anniversary trip, the couple decided to retread the scenic coastal trail they had hiked years earlier."
Word Nuance & Usage
As a noun, 'retread' is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable (REE-tred); as a verb, the stress falls on the second syllable (ree-TRED). Furthermore, its past tense varies by sense: 'retreaded' is standard when referring to replacing a tire's tread, whereas 'retrod' (past participle 'retrodden') is used for the literal sense of stepping or walking a path again.
• Nearby Words
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.