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.
We track his evolution from Liverpudlian schoolboy to American media entrepreneur, his heart broken repeatedly by an English team whose hype is never matched by its performance.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
Protesters have repeatedly taken to the streets in the capital, Havana, and in a demonstration on Wednesday blocked roads with burning rubbish and shouted anti-government slogans.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
She said her husband had repeatedly asked if he could get a lower bunk because of an elbow injury.
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
The review had been expected earlier last year but was repeatedly delayed.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
With a mumbling cry Sir Fig Newton bumped his head repeatedly against my leg.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
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.
