iterate

American  

[it-uh-reyt] / ˈɪt əˌreɪt /

verb (used with object)

iterated, iterating

1. to do (something) over again or repeatedly.

2. to utter again or repeatedly.

   Synonyms:

   rehearse, repeat, reiterate

3. to develop (a product, process, or idea) by building upon previous versions or iterations, using each version as the point of departure for refinements and tweaks: We iterate the app after each round of customer feedback.

   The manufacturer will iterate production and distribution schedules based on consumer demand.

   We iterate the app after each round of customer feedback.

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verb (used without object)

iterated, iterating

1. to operate or be applied repeatedly, as a linguistic rule or mathematical formula.

2. to create something by building on previous versions or iterations, using each version as the point of departure for refinements and tweaks.

   The game studio is iterating on all current animation sets to incorporate the popular new characters.

iterate British  

/ ˈɪtəˌreɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to say or do again; repeat

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Other Word Forms

• iteration
  noun
• iterant
  adjective
• uniterated
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of iterate

First recorded in 1525–35; < Latin iterātus, past participle of iterāre “to repeat, rehearse,” equivalent to iter- (stem of iterum “again”) + -ātus -ate ¹

Explanation

To iterate is to repeat, as in to say or perform something again. If you loved the high school drama club’s performance of the “Three Little Pigs,” encourage them to iterate the musical so you can see it again. And again. Iterate comes from the Latin word iterare for "do again, repeat.” Iterate is a transitive verb, so you have to iterate something. A successful play or concert will usually iterate a performance, so more people can see it. People often iterate a point, by repeating, they hope others will understand it better. Politicians often iterate key points. The word reiterate is more familiar, and means something very similar — to repeat something for emphasis.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

iterate iterated iterating

"With Synthegy, we're giving chemists the power to just talk, allowing them to iterate much faster and navigate more complex synthetic ideas."

From Science Daily ● May 5, 2026

Kobo is instead using the tech to iterate on existing sweaters in her collection.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

The campus is a 30-minute drive from Anduril’s Costa Mesa headquarters and about 90 minutes from the company’s Capistrano test site, the company said, allowing teams to design, test, and iterate quickly across locations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026

“I taught myself how to program on the platform and kind of just continued to iterate and eventually had some successful titles before I graduated high school.”

From Barron's ● Nov. 26, 2025

Over the next two hours we submerge ourselves in finding the sums of infinite geometric series, calculating iterate functions, and expanding powers of binomials.

From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen

The title of the monthly strategy note from the team at Indosuez, “Climbing the wall of worry” iterated several reasons for their constructive approach to the U.S. equity market, including productivity benefits of AI.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2025

The Neo-Futurists’ signature style involves presenting many very short plays in one evening: The original mission was to perform 30 plays in 60 minutes, but that idea has been iterated on over the years.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 8, 2024

Knowing that it had not yet achieved its goal, AI quickly iterated on the design.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2023

The agencies have since applied the best available science and iterated their definitions through the courts.

From Scientific American ● Jun. 15, 2023

The most obvious examples are iterated possessives such as my mother’s brother’s wife’s father’s cousin.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

In recent decades, so-called scrum teams—cross-functional groups focused on deploying and iterating quickly—have replaced a slower, step-by-step engineering methodology known as “waterfall.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026

But when you’re iterating so quickly in poker — hand after hand, decision after decision — it gets into your bones in a way that reading about it doesn’t.

From MarketWatch ● May 12, 2026

"They're not overnight successes, they've spent time building their audiences, iterating their content and looking at what works," she told the BBC.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2025

"Ilene has always said that she will be iterating ideas for the 'L Word' on her deathbed."

From Salon ● Apr. 8, 2025

"You are not sorry," she murmured, ashamed of iterating this foolish question, that demanded one answer—an answer never wholly satisfying.

From The Web of Life by Robert Herrick