repeat

[ ri-peet ]

/ rɪˈpit /

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verb (used with object)

to say or utter again (something already said): to repeat a word for emphasis.

to say or utter in reproducing the words, inflections, etc., of another: to repeat a sentence after the teacher.

to reproduce (utterances, sounds, etc.) in the manner of an echo, a phonograph, or the like.

to tell (something heard) to another or others.

to do, make, or perform again: to repeat an action.

to go through or undergo again: to repeat an experience.

verb (used without object)

to do or say something again.

to cause a slight regurgitation: The onions I ate are repeating on me.

to vote illegally by casting more than one vote in the same election.

noun

the act of repeating.

something repeated; repetition.

a duplicate or reproduction of something.

a decorative pattern repeated, usually by printing, on a textile or the like.

Music.

a passage to be repeated.
a sign, as a vertical arrangement of dots, calling for the repetition of a passage.

a radio or television program that has been broadcast at least once before.

Nearby words

Origin of repeat

1325–75; Middle English repeten (v.) < Middle French repeter < Latin repetere to attack again, demand return of, equivalent to re- re- + petere to reach towards, seek (cf. perpetual, petulant)

SYNONYMS FOR repeat

1. iterate, recite, rehearse. 1, 5. Repeat, recapitulate, reiterate refer to saying a thing more than once. To repeat is to do or say something over again: to repeat a question, an order. To recapitulate is to restate in brief form, to summarize, often by repeating the principal points in a discourse: to recapitulate an argument. To reiterate is to do or say something over and over again, to repeat insistently: to reiterate a refusal, a demand. 3. echo, reecho.

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Related forms

re·peat·a·ble, adjectivere·peat·a·bil·i·ty, nounnon·re·peat, nounself-re·peat·ing, adjective

un·re·peat·a·ble, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for repeat

This time it would be the biggest mistake for the Western press to repeat that—absolutely the biggest mistake.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Our Duty Is to Keep Charlie Hebdo Alive|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The battle between conservation groups and FWS over the fate of the Yellowstone grizzly is about to repeat.
What It Takes to Kill a Grizzly Bear|Doug Peacock|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A Manhattan window washer somehow survived a 47-story fall back in 2007, but such a miracle was not likely to repeat itself.
Rescue at One World Trade Center|Michael Daly|November 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In every interview and event, I continue to repeat my message to the Saudi government.
Wife of Jailed Saudi Blogger: My Husband Is a Victim of the Thought Police|Ensaf Haidar, Advancing Human Rights|October 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

One tune would be like an hour or two hours, and he would not repeat himself, and it would not be boring….
The Stacks: John Coltrane’s Mighty Musical Quest|Nat Hentoff|October 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I repeat—for certain reasons—that I closed with an anecdote.
Essays on Paul Bourget|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
I need not repeat the number of his great and glorious actions, which mark him the General and the hero.
Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856, Vol. I (of 16)|Thomas Hart Benton
I repeat that I have no heart to dwell upon these painful details.
The Life Of Sir John Falstaff|Robert B. Brough
To repeat: Our intellect is not ours, it does not belong to man, but it together with man belongs to the universe.
The Positive Outcome of Philosophy|Joseph Dietzgen
Allow the bulb and tube to cool, then repeat the heating once more.
A Handbook of Laboratory Glass-Blowing|Bernard D. Bolas

British Dictionary definitions for repeat

repeat

/ (rɪˈpiːt) /

verb

(when tr, may take a clause as object) to say or write (something) again, either once or several times; restate or reiterate

to do or experience (something) again once or several times

(intr) to occur more than oncethe last figure repeats

(tr; may take a clause as object) to reproduce (the words, sounds, etc) uttered by someone else; echo

(tr) to utter (a poem, speech, etc) from memory; recite

(intr)

(of food) to be tasted again after ingestion as the result of belching or slight regurgitation
to belch

(tr; may take a clause as object) to tell to another person (the words, esp secrets, imparted to one by someone else)

(intr) (of a clock) to strike the hour or quarter-hour just past, when a spring is pressed

(intr) US to vote (illegally) more than once in a single election

repeat oneself to say or do the same thing more than once, esp so as to be tedious

noun

the act or an instance of repeating
(as modifier)a repeat performance

a word, action, etc, that is repeated

an order made out for goods, provisions, etc, that duplicates a previous order

a duplicate copy of something; reproduction

radio television a further broadcast of a programme, film, etc, which has been broadcast before

music a passage that is an exact restatement of the passage preceding it

Derived Formsrepeatability, nounrepeatable, adjective

Word Origin for repeat

C14: from Old French repeter, from Latin repetere to seek again, from re- + petere to seek

usage

Since again is part of the meaning of repeat, one should not say something is repeated again

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 repeat

repeat

late 14c., "to say what one has already said," from Old French repeter "say or do again, get back, demand the return of" (13c., Modern French répéeter), from Latin repetere "do or say again; attack again," from re- "again" (see re-) + petere "to go to; attack; strive after; ask for, beseech" (see petition (n.)).

Meaning "say what another has said" is from 1590s. As an emphatic word in radio broadcasts, 1938. Meaning "do over again" is from 1550s; specific meaning "to take a course of education over again" is recorded from 1945, American English. Related: Repeated; repeating.

repeat

mid-15c., of music passages, from repeat (v.). From 1937 of broadcasts.

repeat

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

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repeat

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Word Origin for repeat

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