Meaning & use
rehydrate
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitivemedical
To restore water or moisture to the body after it has become dry or dehydrated.
Grammar: Can be used with an object: rehydrate the patient; or without: the patient needs to rehydrate.
Patterns
- rehydrate the body
- rehydrate after exercise
After the marathon, she drank plenty of water to rehydrate.
Doctors gave him fluids to rehydrate his body quickly.
It's important to rehydrate after a long flight.
verbtransitivetechnical
To add water back to dried food so it can be used in cooking.
Grammar: Usually takes an object: rehydrate the mushrooms.
Patterns
- rehydrate dried food
- rehydrate mushrooms
Soak the dried mushrooms in warm water to rehydrate them.
You need to rehydrate the beans overnight before cooking.
verbtransitive
To restore moisture to dry skin or hair.
Grammar: Takes an object: rehydrate your skin.
Patterns
- rehydrate the skin
- rehydrate dry hair
This cream helps rehydrate dry skin.
Use a conditioner to rehydrate your hair after sun exposure.
Word forms
| third person singular | rehydrates |
|---|---|
| past tense | rehydrated |
| past participle | rehydrated |
| present participle | rehydrating |
Common combinations
- rehydrate the body
- Drinking electrolytes can help rehydrate the body after sweating.
- rehydrate dried food
- Campers often rehydrate dried food with hot water.
- rehydrate the skin
- A good moisturizer will rehydrate the skin.
- rehydrate after exercise
- Athletes know they must rehydrate after exercise.
Synonyms and how they differ
- moisturize
- Moisturize is mainly used for skin and means to make it less dry; rehydrate is broader and can apply to the body or food.
- hydrate
- Hydrate means to supply water, often as a preventive measure; rehydrate means to restore water that has been lost.
Opposites
Word family
- rehydration noun
- The process of restoring water to something.
- rehydrated adjective
- Having had water restored.
Commonly confused: rehydrate or dehydrate?
rehydrate vs dehydrate
Dehydrate means to remove water, while rehydrate means to add water back.
Practice
Choose the correct word: After the long hike, we stopped to _____ with water and snacks.
Choose one answer.
Rehydrate fits because it means to restore lost water to the body. Dehydrate means the opposite, hydrate is more general and preventive, and moisturize is used mainly for skin.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rehydrate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.