repetition
Americannoun
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the act of repeating, or doing, saying, or writing something again; repeated action, performance, production, or presentation.
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repeated utterance; reiteration.
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something made by or resulting from repeating.
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a reproduction, copy, or replica.
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Civil Law. an action or demand for the recovery of a payment or delivery made by error or upon failure to fulfill a condition.
noun
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the act or an instance of repeating; reiteration
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a thing, word, action, etc, that is repeated
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a replica or copy
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civil law Scots law the recovery or repayment of money paid or received by mistake, as when the same bill has been paid twice
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of repetition
1375–1425; late Middle English (< Old French repeticion ) < Latin repetītiōn- (stem of repetītiō ), equivalent to repetīt ( us ) (past participle of repetere to repeat ) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Use the noun repetition to describe something that is repeated over and over, like the repetition of singing the alphabet song several times a day to help young children learn the letters. To correctly pronounce repetition, accent the third syllable: "re-peh-TIH-shun." Repetition and the closely related repeat come from the Latin word repetere, meaning "do or say again." It can be a very effective tool in public speaking, such as the repetition of "I have a dream that one day . . ." in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speech.
Vocabulary lists containing repetition
Literary Devices & Figures of Speech - Introductory
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Poetry: Literary Devices
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AP English Lit exam terms
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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.
Repetition as a promotional strategy is nothing new, but on TikTok Shop it feels like a form of psychological warfare.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 3, 2023
Repetition becomes a powerful design element, demonstrating that a grand visual impact can be achieved with just a few styles of items when they are generously represented.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 9, 2023
Repetition is one of the most essential principles in marketing.
From Salon • Feb. 9, 2023
Repetition doesn’t have to be a redundancy that wears us down.
From Washington Post • Nov. 25, 2022
Repetition is important in the training not only of animals but also of humans.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
Definitions 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.
