repertoire

American  

[rep-er-twahr, -twawr, rep-uh-] / ˈrɛp ərˌtwɑr, -ˌtwɔr, ˈrɛp ə- /

Or répertoire

noun

• repertoires
  plural

1. the list of dramas, operas, parts, pieces, etc., that a company, actor, singer, or the like, is prepared to perform.

2. the entire stock of works existing in a particular artistic field.

   A new play has been added to the theatrical repertoire.

3. the entire stock of skills, techniques, or devices used in a particular field or occupation.

   a magician's repertoire.

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repertoire British  

/ ˈrɛpəˌtwɑː /

noun

1. all the plays, songs, operas, or other works collectively that a company, actor, singer, dancer, etc, has prepared and is competent to perform

2. the entire stock of things available in a field or of a kind

   the comedian's repertoire of jokes was becoming stale

3. denoting the performance of two or more plays, ballets, etc, by the same company in the same venue on different evenings over a period of time

   ``Nutcracker'' returns to Covent Garden over Christmas in repertoire with ``Giselle''

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• repertoires
  plural

Etymology

Origin of repertoire

1840–50; < French < Late Latin repertōrium catalogue, inventory. See repertory

Explanation

Repertoire refers to the full supply of what you can do. A singer's repertoire is all the songs he can sing. A chef's repertoire is what she knows how to cook. Repertoire was borrowed from French répertoire, from Late Latin repertorium "an inventory." The Late Latin word is also the source of English repertory, a group of actors that perform many plays, each performed for a short time. The second "r" in both repertoire and repertory is often not pronounced.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

repertoire repertoires

You’re still having to learn a vast repertoire of another band and accommodate your style as a working professional and acclaimed musician of many years into someone else’s.

From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026

Mr. Batiste had learned “Straight, No Chaser” shortly after taking up the piano at age 11 but had yet to dig into the rest of Monk’s repertoire of what are now mostly jazz standards.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

She impressed casting directors with a repertoire of characters and accents she’d been perfecting since she was 4 years old.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

The ensemble, a stylistic laboratory, essentially revived the forgotten French Baroque repertoire when launched by William Christie in France in 1979.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Patching tires and adjusting the bike’s brakes with a coat hanger became important parts of her mechanical repertoire.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

“The piano world,” the author writes, “is, in many ways, the worst of the canon-worshipping repertoires, a leftover of Clara’s own legacy.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

She became obsessed with the opera and orchestral repertoires and was immediately determined to play in an orchestra.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026

The announcement Thursday is part of a broader effort by financial services companies to add stablecoin and other crypto offerings to their repertoires.

From Barron's ● Dec. 18, 2025

Nothing makes me happier than these recipes making it into other people's repertoires, too.

From Salon ● Jan. 7, 2025

This chapter addresses children’s creativity, and introduces different types of children’s musical play and their associated repertoires as well as ideas for children’s improvisation.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Related Words

• repertory