Morphemes in “rebuilding”

“rebuilding” has 3 morphemes: re- + build + -ing.

re prefix
+
build root
+
ing suffix

Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are re- + build + -ing.

Each morpheme explained

MorphemeTypeFree / boundMeaning
re- derivational prefix bound again, back
build free root free make by combining materials and parts
-ing inflectional suffix bound ongoing action (present participle) / gerund

How the word is built

build rebuild rebuilding

Each step adds one affix to the word before it; the root “build” is where the chain starts.

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Related words

Segmentation derived from MorphyNet (Batsuren, Bella & Giunchiglia, 2021; CC BY-SA 3.0, built from Wiktionary), with hand-written affix glosses and root meanings from WordNet. Reviewed for classroom use; tell us if you spot an error.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many morphemes are in "rebuilding"?
"rebuilding" has three morphemes: re- + build + -ing.
How do you break "rebuilding" into morphemes?
re- + build + -ing. The root is "build"; re- is a derivational prefix, -ing is a inflectional suffix.
What is the root word of "rebuilding"?
The root of "rebuilding" is "build", built up as build → rebuild → rebuilding.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.