To rehabilitate means to restore someone or something to a good, healthy, or useful condition after damage, illness, or other problems. When doctors rehabilitate a patient after surgery, they help that person recover strength and movement through physical therapy and practice. When a wildlife center rehabilitates an injured owl, they treat its wounds and help it regain the skills it needs to hunt again before releasing it back into the forest.

The word often appears in discussions about helping people recover from injuries or overcome challenges. An athlete might need months to rehabilitate a torn muscle, working with trainers to rebuild strength safely. Someone recovering from a serious illness might go to a rehabilitation center (often called rehab for short) where specialists help them relearn basic skills like walking or using their hands.

Rehabilitate can also mean restoring someone's reputation after it's been damaged. If someone was wrongly accused of wrongdoing, new evidence might rehabilitate their reputation, showing others they were innocent all along. Similarly, historians sometimes work to rehabilitate the reputation of a forgotten historical figure by sharing the full story of their accomplishments.