repertory
Americannoun
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a type of theatrical presentation in which a company presents several works regularly or in alternate sequence in one season.
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Also called repertory company. Also called repertory theater,. a theatrical company that presents productions in this manner.
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a store or stock of things available.
noun
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the entire stock of things available in a field or of a kind; repertoire
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a building or place where a stock of things is kept; repository
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short for repertory company
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of repertory
1545–55; < Late Latin repertōrium inventory, equivalent to Latin reper ( īre ) to discover, find, make up ( re- re- + -perīre, combining form of parere to bring forth, produce) + -tōrium -tory 2
Explanation
A repertory is a collection of pieces that are ready to be performed, like a theater's repertory of plays or a singer's repertory of songs. The word repertory is very similar to the related repertoire, and they share the Late Latin root repertorium, "inventory or list." The French repertoire is generally more common, meaning "full range of what you can do." Repertory is more likely to specifically mean a theater or company of actors with a regularly performed repertoire of plays.
Vocabulary lists containing repertory
The Great Gilly Hopkins
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Theater - Middle School
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Society and Solitude
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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.
One of the oddest and most affecting pieces in the choral repertory is coming to Cincinnati’s May Festival on Tuesday.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
Plus, recycling a star is a classic move for regional theaters, which historically operated as repertory companies that showcased the same group of performers in different roles and thereby exhibited their range.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026
The list of regulars, guest conductors and soloists is long and the repertory widely varied.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026
The number is even more astonishing when one realizes that the program offered just one renowned composer and nothing that could be termed popular repertory.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026
She waited until Mrs. Trotter and Miss Ellis were talking, then gave little W.E. the most fearful face in all her repertory of scary looks, sort of a cross between Count Dracula and Godzilla.
From "The Great Gilly Hopkins" by Katherine Paterson
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.
