Meaning & use
reclad
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Meaning
verbtransitivetechnicalBritish
To fit a building with a new outer covering of panels or other material, replacing the old one.
Grammar: Takes an object: the council recladded the tower, not 'the tower recladded'.
Patterns
- reclad something in something
- reclad something with something
The council plans to reclad the tower block in fire-resistant panels.
They had to reclad the whole school after the old walls started to leak.
The architects will reclad the old office building with glass.
Word forms
| third person singular | reclads |
|---|---|
| past tense | recladded |
| past participle | recladded |
| -ing form | recladding |
Common combinations
- reclad a building
- The firm was hired to reclad the building before winter.
- reclad a tower block
- Workers began to reclad the tower block in the spring.
- reclad in brick
- The facade was recladded in brick for a traditional look.
- cost to reclad
- The cost to reclad each flat was shared among owners.
Synonyms and how they differ
- refit
- Refit is much broader and covers any new fittings inside or outside, while reclad is only about the outer covering.
- resurface
- Resurface is used for roads and floors and does not suggest panels fitted to a wall.
- renovate
- Renovate covers any restoration work, whereas reclad names one specific job.
Opposites
Word family
- cladding noun
- the outer layer covering a building
- clad verb
- to cover with a layer
- recladding noun
- the work of fitting new cladding
- re-cladding noun
- alternative spelling of recladding
Commonly confused: reclad or reclaim?
reclad vs reclaim
Reclaim means to get something back or to make land usable again, while reclad means to fit new outer panels.
Practice
After the safety inspection, the owners decided to ______ the building with non-flammable panels.
Choose one answer.
Reclad means replace the outer covering of a building. Reclaim and recall do not take panels as an object in this sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “reclad”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.