repeatedly
Americanadverb
Etymology
Origin of repeatedly
Explanation
To do something repeatedly means to do it over and over again. If you text your friend repeatedly during her geometry test, she'll probably get annoyed and turn her phone off. If a teacher tells a student, "I've told you repeatedly that you need to raise your hand before you speak," it means that the teacher has said this many times. This adverb implies an ongoing or even constant kind of activity. At the heart of repeatedly is the verb repeat, which has the Latin root repetere, "do or say again," or "attack again."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The three downstream states of California, Arizona and Nevada have repeatedly deadlocked in negotiations with the upstream states of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
It said there had been issues with a stallion on the cliffs who had repeatedly escaped through a pedestrian gate.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Given that bitcoin has repeatedly suffered peak-to-trough drawdowns that last longer than traditional markets can stand, he cautions against assuming the bottom is in.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
That pattern may indicate that the ship was repaired repeatedly, with materials obtained from different locations around the Mediterranean.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
In our discussions of pictorial and sculptural space, we have repeatedly referred to architecture, for it is the principal means of organizing space.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
