reinvestigate

verb

re·​in·​ves·​ti·​gate (ˌ)rē-in-ˈve-stə-ˌgāt How to pronounce reinvestigate (audio)
reinvestigated; reinvestigating
Synonyms of reinvestigatenext

transitive verb

: to investigate (something) again
… decided to use modern police methods to reinvestigate the case.—Robert Wainwright
reinvestigation
(ˌ)rē-in-ˌve-stə-ˈgā-shən How to pronounce reinvestigate (audio)
noun
plural reinvestigations
During the past 30 years, new discoveries and reinvestigations of long-forgotten specimens have coalesced into a flood of transitional fossils. —Maureen Greenbaum

Examples of reinvestigate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
After finishing his work on the book, Goldman continued to reinvestigate the case on his own for nearly a decade. — Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 3 Nov. 2025 Police reinvestigating the cold case brought him in for questioning in 2017 and charged him with murder, but the case was discontinued, and he was again freed. — Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 28 Feb. 2026 But in a paper published in 2024, scientists reinvestigated Rosetta’s analysis of comet 67P — and found that space may have tampered with the data. — Quanta Magazine, 12 June 2026 In 2019, the Buffalo Police Department decided to reinvestigate the case. — Jennifer Gonnerman, New Yorker, 25 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for reinvestigate

Word History

First Known Use

1802, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of reinvestigate was in 1802

Rhymes for reinvestigate

See All Rhymes for reinvestigate

Browse Nearby Words

reinvest
reinvestigate
reinvestiture
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Reinvestigate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reinvestigate. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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