repatriate

[ verb ree-pey-tree-eyt; noun ree-pey-tree-it ]

verb (used with object),re·pa·tri·at·ed, re·pa·tri·at·ing.

to bring or send back (a person, especially a prisoner of war, a refugee, etc.) to their country or land of citizenship.
to send (profits or other assets) back to one's own country.

to restore to a country that has attained sovereignty something that was formerly held or administered on that country’s behalf by a colonial power: In 1982, the Trudeau government repatriated Canada's constitution from Britain.

verb (used without object),re·pa·tri·at·ed, re·pa·tri·at·ing.

to return to one's own country: to repatriate after 20 years abroad.

noun

a person who has been repatriated.

Origin of repatriate

First recorded in 1605–15; from Late Latin repatriātus (past participle of repatriāre “to return to one's fatherland”), equivalent to Latin re- “again, back” + patri(a) “native country” (noun use of feminine of patrius “paternal,” derivative of pater “father”) + -ātus past participle suffix; see re-, father, -ate¹

Other words from repatriate

re·pa·tri·a·ble [ree-pey-tree-uh-buhl], /riˈpeɪ tri ə bəl/, adjective
re·pa·tri·a·tion [ree-pey-tree-ey-shuhn], /riˌpeɪ triˈeɪ ʃən/, noun
non·re·pa·tri·a·ble, adjective
un·re·pa·tri·at·ed, adjective

Words Nearby repatriate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use repatriate in a sentence

If Apple were to repatriate its cash held overseas, then it would have to pay the statutory corporate tax rate of 35 percent.
Apple Stimulates Economy Through Dividends and Stock Buybacks | Matthew Zeitlin | April 24, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Lately, companies like GE have been pushing to repatriate their cash at more reasonable tax rates of 10 to 15 percent.
Obama Takes Playbook from Rahm | Eliza Griswold | June 23, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
And then the administrator tells us, yes, he is a repatriate.
Warren Commission (8 of 26): Hearings Vol. VIII (of 15) | The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
Finally, the English Government offered to repatriate the Turkish women without any reciprocity conditions.
Turkish Prisoners in Egypt | Various
The British authorities declared that they could not repatriate men of Urmi.
The Cradle of Mankind | W.A. Wigram

When they recovered they were sent to India, for it was not feasible to repatriate them by way of Persia.
War in the Garden of Eden | Kermit Roosevelt
His experiences were not such as to induce him to repatriate himself permanently.
Fathers and Children | Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev

British Dictionary definitions for repatriate

repatriate

verb(riːˈpætrɪˌeɪt) (tr)

to send back (a refugee, prisoner of war, etc) to the country of his birth or citizenship
to send back (a sum of money previously invested abroad) to its country of origin

noun(riːˈpætrɪɪt)

a person who has been repatriated

Origin of repatriate

C17: from Late Latin repatriāre from Latin re- + patria fatherland; compare repair ²

Derived forms of repatriate

repatriation, noun

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

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