reallocate

Reallocate is a verb meaning to allocate something again or differently. It commonly refers to moving or redistributing resources, assets, tasks, or responsibilities within an organization, project, or system.

In budgeting and operations, reallocation involves shifting funds, materials, or personnel from one area to another to respond to changing needs, optimize efficiency, or adapt to constraints. It is often part of strategic planning, project management, or crisis response, guided by performance data and policy rules.

In computing, reallocate describes operations that adjust memory usage. The most widely known example is the realloc function in the C standard library, which may expand or shrink a previously allocated block and may move the block to a new location. If successful, it returns a pointer to the new block; if it fails, the original block remains allocated. Because a move can occur, existing pointers must be updated to the value returned by realloc.

In logistics and staffing, reallocation refers to transferring resources across departments, locations, or projects to align with demand, capacity, or priorities. Such moves may require approvals, impact assessments, and clear communication with affected stakeholders.

Related concepts include redistribution and budget reallocation, and in computing the realloc function is part of memory management techniques.