1. The act or result of reconstructing.
2. Reconstruction The period (1865-1877) during which the states that had seceded to the Confederacy were controlled by the federal government before being readmitted to the Union.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.