repeat

[ri-peet]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR repeat ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

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)

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

Synonyms for repeat

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR repeat ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

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

Related Words for repeat

repetition, replay, rerun, recite, rehash, reiterate, echo, renew, restate, reiteration, recapitulation, reproduction, imitate, relate, recapitulate, iterate, chime, redo, recur, reform

Examples from the Web for repeat

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of repeat

It will not be necessary to repeat in detail the course of my examination.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
As we do, we must not repeat the well-intentioned errors of our past.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
Yet, I repeat, man is potentially a man, however far he may be from actual manhood.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
He did me the honor to repeat it aloud; but the Minister's answer was not heard.
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 8, May 21, 1870
Various
In the lives of great men the typical tragedies are likely to repeat themselves.
The Man Shakespeare
Frank Harris

British Dictionary definitions for repeat

repeat

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

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.

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