reconstruction

Everyday

1. Reconstruction is building something again after it was damaged or destroyed. tree →
2. A reconstruction is a copy made to show how something looked long ago, like a model of an old village. tree →
3. A reconstruction is an attempt to work out what happened, for example by acting out a crime or an accident step by step. tree →

In the lessons

In history and science lessons it tells how people rebuild towns after wars, floods or earthquakes, and how museums show old things; in stories and the news it appears with police and accidents («a reconstruction of the crash»). Phrases: «under reconstruction», «post-war reconstruction», «facial reconstruction».

Examples

• The bridge is closed for reconstruction. tree →
• After the earthquake, the reconstruction of the town took a long time. tree →
• The museum has a reconstruction of a Viking house. tree →
• Scientists made a reconstruction of the dinosaur from its bones. tree →
• The police did a reconstruction of the robbery to jog people's memories. tree →
• Our class built a reconstruction of a Roman fort out of cardboard. tree →
• The reconstruction of the old school cost a lot of money. tree →
• The doctor talked about reconstruction of his broken knee. tree →

Note

Comes from the verb «reconstruct» (re- = again + construct = build). Countable when it is one model or one acted-out event (a reconstruction); uncountable for the work of rebuilding. Not the same as «renovation», which means making an old building look new without rebuilding it.

Meaning