Meaning of reverse-engineer | Babel Free

Definitions

1. To derive or duplicate the design, technical specifications, manufacturing methods, or functionality of an object by studying an existing product, prototype, etc.
2. To create or modify an implementation to better conform to a desired goal.

Equivalents

Examples

“1997, Roy A. Sorensen, "The Metaphysics of Precision and Scientific Language," Noûs, vol. 31, Supplement: Philosophical Perspectives, 11, p. 363, Each creature was viewed as the artifact of a divine blueprint. The role of the biologist was to reverse engineer God's handiwork.”

“In theory, there should be no need to reverse-engineer a patented invention to get information about how to make it because the patent specification should inform the relevant technical community of how to make the invention.”

“Typically, you complete some design, some implementation, some testing, come up with some good ideas which you implement, and then reverse-engineer your implementation into an improved design.”

“As a matter of preference, always prefer to reverse engineer a roof plan, even when one already exists, but both methods will be discussed here along with their benefits and drawbacks.”

“When this happened, Braun said, the editors were often obliged to “reverse engineer” the episode, scouring hundreds of hours of footage to emphasize the few moments when the exemplary candidate might have slipped up, in an attempt to assemble an artificial version of history in which Trump’s shoot-from-the-hip decision made sense.”

CEFR level