What does reroute mean?
Reroute means to change the route or course of a journey, flight, vehicle, message, shipment, or other activity. The word is particularly common in transport and infrastructure contexts, where a planned route may need to be redirected because of weather, accidents, roadworks, congestion, or operational problems. It also has broader uses for changing the direction of communication or the organization of a process. In everyday prose, “reroute traffic” and “reroute flights” are especially natural, while formal and technical writing may use the hyphenated spelling “re-route.” The noun is less common than the verb but can refer to an alternative route or the act of changing one. Overall, reroute conveys a deliberate redirection rather than a simple movement: the original arrangement exists, and the change supplies a new course around or in response to it.
To change the route, direction, or course of travel, communication, transportation, or a process.
"The airline rerouted the flight over the mountains when the airport closed."
Often transitive, as in “reroute traffic,” although it may also be used intransitively, especially with “around.” The hyphenated form “re-route” is also standard.
An alternative or changed route, or the act of changing to one.
"The temporary reroute through the north side of town added several minutes to the journey."
The noun is less common than the verb and is chiefly used in transport, logistics, and planning contexts.
The plural is possible, but the noun is considerably less common than the verb.
"The engineers evaluated several reroutes around the damaged bridge."
Reroute hides a Latin image of a “broken road”: its root word, route, comes from Latin rupta via, literally “broken road.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does reroute come from?
Reroute was formed in English by combining the prefix re- with route, indicating a second or altered routing. Route came into English through French from Latin rupta via, literally “broken road,” a reference to a path broken or opened through the landscape. The same Latin source underlies words such as rout and routine, while rupture descends from the related Latin verb rumpere, “to break.”
Related word forms
How reroute is actually used
Reroute is neutral in register and is especially common in transport, logistics, computing, telecommunications, and emergency-management contexts. The spelling “re-route” is also widely accepted. The verb can be transitive, as in “reroute traffic,” or used without an object in phrases such as “rerouting around the closure.”
Easily confused with reroute
“Routed” can mean sent along a particular route or soundly defeated, whereas “reroute” means to change an existing route.