redeem

[ri-deem]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR redeem ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to buy or pay off; clear by payment: to redeem a mortgage.

to buy back, as after a tax sale or a mortgage foreclosure.

to recover (something pledged or mortgaged) by payment or other satisfaction: to redeem a pawned watch.

to exchange (bonds, trading stamps, etc.) for money or goods.

to convert (paper money) into specie.

to discharge or fulfill (a pledge, promise, etc.).

to make up for; make amends for; offset (some fault, shortcoming, etc.): His bravery redeemed his youthful idleness.

to obtain the release or restoration of, as from captivity, by paying a ransom.

Theology. to deliver from sin and its consequences by means of a sacrifice offered for the sinner.

Origin of redeem

1375–1425; late Middle English redemen < Middle French redimer < Latin redimere, equivalent to red- red- + -imere, combining form of emere to purchase (cf. emptor, ransom)

Related formspre·re·deem, verb (used with object)un·re·deemed, adjective

Synonyms for redeem

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR redeem ON THESAURUS.COM

1–3. repurchase. 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. 8, 9. free, liberate, rescue, save.

Antonyms for redeem

1. abandon.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for redeem

regain, restore, repay, recoup, reclaim, liberate, extricate, rehabilitate, compensate, satisfy, offset, ransom, purchase, retrieve, exchange, cover, cash, repossess, settle, defray

Examples from the Web for redeem

Contemporary Examples of redeem

Sports drinks and coconut water, which is lower in sugar, can also redeem electrolytes lost while drinking, says White.
5 Hangover Cures to Save You After a Few Too Many
DailyBurn
December 19, 2014
Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) may have drawn wide attention and praise for their REDEEM Act.
Why Isn’t Prison Justice on the Ballot This Tuesday?
Inimai Chettiar, Abigail Finkelman
November 1, 2014
In all of this lies the chance, also, for FIFA to redeem itself.
Best Way to Punish Putin? No World Cup
Tunku Varadarajan
July 20, 2014
Now, thanks to a military man he fired, retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal, he has a chance to redeem himself.
It’s Time for Obama to Heed McChrystal’s Call for the ‘Service Year’
Jonathan Alter
June 23, 2014
And that means it has to potential to redeem Christie—or make his already-hellish 2014 much, much worse.
This Civil War Reenactor Controls Christie’s Fate
Olivia Nuzzi
March 5, 2014

Historical Examples of redeem

And by our dreams and labors we will redeem the promise of America in the 21st century.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
But as to doing what he wills with a word—see what it cost him to redeem the world!
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
Is it possible to do nothing to redeem these poor people, father, from captivity?
Homeward Bound
James Fenimore Cooper
Offices which are but pledges that we are expected to redeem.
Homeward Bound
James Fenimore Cooper
I reject the monstrous theory that while a man may redeem the past, a woman never can.
The Eternal City
Hall Caine

British Dictionary definitions for redeem

redeem

verb (tr)

to recover possession or ownership of by payment of a price or service; regain

to convert (bonds, shares, etc) into cash

to pay off (a promissory note, loan, etc)

to recover (something pledged, mortgaged, or pawned)

to convert (paper money) into bullion or specie

to fulfil (a promise, pledge, etc)

to exchange (trading stamps, coupons, etc) for goods

to reinstate in someone's estimation or good opinion; restore to favourhe 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

Derived Formsredeemer, noun

Word Origin for redeem

C15: from Old French redimer, from Latin redimere to buy back, from red- re- + emere to buy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for redeem

early 15c., "buy back, ransom," from Middle French redemer "buy back," from Latin redimere (see redemption). Theological sense of "deliver from sin and spiritual death" is from c.1500. Meaning "make amends for" is from 1520s. Sense of "make good" (a promise, obligation, etc.) is from 1840. Related: Redeemed; redeeming.