Restructuring

How to spell restructuring

13 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce restructuring

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does restructuring mean?

1. nounThe act of organising something, such as a company or a debt, into a new arrangement.
2. verbIn the act of organising something into a new arrangement.

Restructuring in a sentence

• noun

  The restructuring of the department led to several redundancies.

• verb

  The firm is restructuring its entire supply chain to cut costs.

• noun

  The bank agreed to a restructuring of the loan to ease the monthly payments.

• verb

  By restructuring the schedule, the team freed up two whole days a week.

Where does restructuring come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word builds on 'structure', which English took from the Latin structura, meaning 'a fitting together' or 'a building', itself derived from the verb struere, 'to pile up, arrange, or build'. English adopted 'structure' in the 1400s, largely through French, originally describing the physical process or result of construction before it broadened to mean any arranged system or framework. The prefix 're-' carries its familiar Latin sense of 'again' or 'anew', so to restructure is literally to build the arrangement over again. The verb 'restructure' is relatively modern, gaining wide currency in the twentieth century, especially in business and finance, and 'restructuring' is its gerund and present participle. Spelling it cleanly is mostly a matter of remembering the 'struct' core that also surfaces in 'construct', 'instruct', and 'destruction'.

How the word is built

• re- (again)
• struct (from struere: to build)
• -ure (noun)
• -ing (verbal/gerund ending)