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 patterns repeatedly involved brain regions associated with memory and self-referential thought, or the mental processes people use when thinking about themselves and their own experiences.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026
"After having reservoir applications repeatedly blocked, we have finally been given approval to build 10, which will take years to complete," they said.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
They repeatedly ignored Ms. Hannah-Jones’s efforts to find out how her daughter was doing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
The British expat has repeatedly boasted that he’s the candidate of legal immigrants.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
Mrs. Malvolio blinked repeatedly and smiled blankly as her brain scrambled to come up with a suitable answer.
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
