redecorate

Everyday

1. To redecorate a room or house is to make it look new again by painting walls, putting up new wallpaper or changing the curtains and furniture. tree →
2. (informal, joking) To «redecorate» can mean to make a big mess, like a toddler spreading food over the walls. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life families redecorate bedrooms, classrooms get redecorated in the holidays. In maths problems it comes with area: how much paint or wallpaper is needed, and how much it costs. Phrases: «redecorate the bedroom», «redecorate in blue».

Examples

• We are going to redecorate my bedroom in green. tree →
• The classroom was redecorated over the holidays. tree →
• Dad spent the weekend redecorating the kitchen. tree →
• To redecorate the wall, which is 4 m by 3 m, we need paint for 12 square metres. tree →
• Gran redecorated the spare room for the new baby. tree →
• The baby redecorated the floor with his porridge. tree →
• They saved up for months to redecorate the house. tree →

Note

re- means «again». Drop the e before -ing: redecorating. In UK English «decorate» alone often means paint and paper a room. In maths, redecorating questions usually need area (length × width) and sometimes subtraction for doors and windows.