What does "repurposed" mean?

[Andreana]

Hi, is the verb to repurpose frequently used? I'm asking because I couldn't find this word in any of my dictionaries but it seems that repurposed is used as the following example shows:

...large rubber exercise balls were repurposed as highly mobile office chairs...

Please share your thoughts with me on this.
Thanks in advance,
Andreana
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[Jamie (K)]

"Repurposed" is not used in normal conversation. It's sort of a business world buzzword. I suppose most people think it's ugly, but the problem is that there's no other short way to express exactly that concept, as far as I know.