redeem
Americanverb (used with object)
-
redeems,
present (3rd person singular)
-
redeemed,
past participle, past
-
redeeming
present participle
-
to make up for; make amends for; offset (some fault, shortcoming, etc.).
His bravery redeemed his youthful idleness.
- Synonyms:
- compensate, counterbalance
-
to exchange (bonds, trading stamps, coupons, points, etc.) for money or goods.
I redeemed 25,000 points for a free night’s stay at the hotel.
This coupon can be redeemed at any grocery store.
-
to buy or pay off; clear by payment.
to redeem a mortgage.
-
to buy back, as after a tax sale or a mortgage foreclosure.
- Synonyms:
- repurchase, regain, reclaim
-
to recover (something pledged or mortgaged) by payment or other satisfaction.
to redeem a pawned watch.
- Synonyms:
- repurchase, regain, reclaim
-
to obtain the release or restoration of, such as from captivity, by paying a ransom.
-
Christianity. to deliver from sin and its consequences by means of a sacrifice offered for the sinner.
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to convert (paper money) into coins.
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to discharge or fulfill (a pledge, promise, etc.).
verb
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to recover possession or ownership of by payment of a price or service; regain
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to convert (bonds, shares, etc) into cash
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to pay off (a promissory note, loan, etc)
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to recover (something pledged, mortgaged, or pawned)
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to convert (paper money) into bullion or specie
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to fulfil (a promise, pledge, etc)
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to exchange (trading stamps, coupons, etc) for goods
-
to reinstate in someone's estimation or good opinion; restore to favour
he redeemed himself by his altruistic action
-
to make amends for
-
to recover from captivity, esp by a money payment
-
Christianity (of Christ as Saviour) to free (mankind) from sin by his death on the Cross
Synonym Usage
Redeem, ransom both mean to buy back. Redeem is wider in its application than ransom, and means to buy back, regain possession of, or exchange for money, goods, etc.: to redeem one's property. To ransom is to redeem a person from captivity by paying a stipulated price, or to redeem from sin by sacrifice: to ransom a kidnapped child.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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redeemsimple
-
redeemssimple
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have redeemedperfect
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has redeemedperfect
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am redeemingprogressive
-
are redeemingprogressive
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is redeemingprogressive
-
have been redeemingperfect progressive
-
has been redeemingperfect progressive
Past
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redeemedsimple
-
had redeemedperfect
-
was redeemingprogressive
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were redeemingprogressive
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had been redeemingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of redeem
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English redemen, from Middle French redimer, from Latin redimere, equivalent to red- red- + -imere, combining form of emere “to purchase” ( cf. emptor, ransom)
Explanation
If you redeem yourself, you make up for wrongs by doing something that makes you seem good again, like when after being irritable and snappy with your grandmother, you redeem yourself by bringing her flowers and apologizing. Redeem comes from the French rédimer, which means "to deliver," and which in turn comes from the Latin for "buy back." In Christianity you can be redeemed by renouncing your sins. Classic heroes fail and then redeem themselves with valiant acts. But redeem doesn't have to be religious or moral. When you turn in a glass bottle for recycling, you redeem it, just as you redeem your coupon for 20% off your next hamburger.
Vocabulary lists containing redeem
List 1
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Hamilton
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"Ad Power," "Without Commercials," and "What's Wrong with Advertising"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
These vehicles allow investors to redeem shares quarterly — but usually only up to 5% of a fund’s assets.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
EatClub is another, giving walk-ins up to 50% off the whole bill at thousands of venues when they redeem an offer within its app.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
Upon final approval, World Liberty Trust will issue, redeem and safeguard USD1, the $4 billion dollar-backed stablecoin that World Liberty launched last year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Aeroplan members collect points through Air Canada flights and purchases made with co-branded credit cards, which they can then redeem in exchange for air travel or other goods.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
I’d been waiting so long to redeem my daddy, what was another five minutes?
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
That means that the amount it redeems on June 10 may be less than $30.52 million.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026
Under these arrangements, companies or brokers buy forest land to preserve it, so that by absorbing carbon from the atmosphere the land redeems or "offsets" the planet-warming emissions produced by firms' other activities.
From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026
Just when this thing seems dead, though, the movie picks up considerably, and the much-better second half nearly redeems it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
“Shadow Ticket’s” structure turns the current film adaptation of “Vineland” inside out — that would be “One Battle After Another,” whose thrilling middle more than redeems an only slightly off-key beginning and end.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
Even in places where the face of earth wears no suggestion of natural beauty the face of the sky redeems it from evil.
From One Day at a Time and Other Talks on Life and Religion by Arch. Alexander
Always check the small print as some freebies have exclusions and can't be redeemed with other discounts.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
In that way, I feel creatively redeemed on some level, just in my own journey between me, myself and I. But I feel ready to move on from the ‘Blade’ questions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
The lesson of the scripture is that everyone can be redeemed, can change, no matter what mistakes they have made.
From Slate ● Jul. 10, 2026
The digital codes that contain the games’ licenses expire after they are redeemed.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026
When we wanted money, we walked along the roadside picking up beer cans and bottles that we redeemed for two cents each.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
This only makes sense if it brings demonstrable advantages over the current way of issue, trading and redeeming assets, they say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
It’s a fun concept—the machine taking on pesky tasks that offer no redeeming mental value—but there’s an important group standing in Big Tech’s way: Big Tech.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
The only redeeming aspect of the show happens here, on a ski slope, when their youngest daughter Valentina, who was born with Down syndrome, is treated to a lesson via an adaptive ski school.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Gift card redemptions for fuel retailers are rising, the company said, and from January to March, Fetch saw a 20% lift in consumers redeeming fuel-related offers in the app.
From Barron's ● May 13, 2026
Sometimes, I think everything he did, feeding the poor on the streets, building the orphanage, giving money to friends in need, it was all his way of redeeming himself.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
