repeat

American  

[ri-peet] / rɪˈpit /

verb (used with object)

• repeats,
  present (3rd person singular)
• repeated,
  past participle,  past
• repeating
  present participle

1. to say or utter again (something already said).

   to repeat a word for emphasis.

   Synonyms:

   rehearse, recite, iterate

2. to say or utter in reproducing the words, inflections, etc., of another.

   to repeat a sentence after the teacher.

3. to reproduce (utterances, sounds, etc.) in the manner of an echo, a phonograph, or the like.

   Synonyms:

   reecho, echo

4. to tell (something heard) to another or others.

5. to do, make, or perform again.

   to repeat an action.

6. to go through or undergo again.

   to repeat an experience.

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verb (used without object)

• repeats,
  present (3rd person singular)
• repeated,
  past participle,  past
• repeating
  present participle

1. to do or say something again.

2. to cause a slight regurgitation.

   The onions I ate are repeating on me.

3. to vote illegally by casting more than one vote in the same election.

noun

• repeats
  plural

1. the act of repeating.

2. something repeated; repetition.

3. a duplicate or reproduction of something.

4. a decorative pattern repeated, usually by printing, on a textile or the like.

5. Music.

   1. a passage to be repeated.

   2. a sign, as a vertical arrangement of dots, calling for the repetition of a passage.

6. a radio or television program that has been broadcast at least once before.

repeat British  

/ rɪˈpiːt /

verb

1. (when tr, may take a clause as object) to say or write (something) again, either once or several times; restate or reiterate

2. to do or experience (something) again once or several times

3. (intr) to occur more than once

   the last figure repeats

4. (tr; may take a clause as object) to reproduce (the words, sounds, etc) uttered by someone else; echo

5. (tr) to utter (a poem, speech, etc) from memory; recite

6. (intr)

   1. (of food) to be tasted again after ingestion as the result of belching or slight regurgitation

   2. to belch

7. (tr; may take a clause as object) to tell to another person (the words, esp secrets, imparted to one by someone else)

8. (intr) (of a clock) to strike the hour or quarter-hour just past, when a spring is pressed

9. (intr) to vote (illegally) more than once in a single election

10. to say or do the same thing more than once, esp so as to be tedious

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noun

1. 1. the act or an instance of repeating

   2. ( as modifier )

      a repeat performance

2. a word, action, etc, that is repeated

3. an order made out for goods, provisions, etc, that duplicates a previous order

4. a duplicate copy of something; reproduction

5. radio television a further broadcast of a programme, film, etc, which has been broadcast before

6. music a passage that is an exact restatement of the passage preceding it

Usage

Since again is part of the meaning of repeat , one should not say something is repeated again

Synonym Usage

Repeat, recapitulate, reiterate refer to saying a thing more than once. To repeat is to do or say something over again: to repeat a question, an order. To recapitulate is to restate in brief form, to summarize, often by repeating the principal points in a discourse: to recapitulate an argument. To reiterate is to do or say something over and over again, to repeat insistently: to reiterate a refusal, a demand.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonrepeat
  noun
• repeatability
  noun
• repeatable
  adjective
• self-repeating
  adjective
• unrepeatable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• repeats
  plural

Participles

• repeating
  present
• repeated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• repeat
  simple
• repeats
  simple
• have repeated
  perfect
• has repeated
  perfect
• am repeating
  progressive
• are repeating
  progressive
• is repeating
  progressive
• have been repeating
  perfect progressive
• has been repeating
  perfect progressive

Past

• repeated
  simple
• had repeated
  perfect
• was repeating
  progressive
• were repeating
  progressive
• had been repeating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will repeat
  simple
• will have repeated
  perfect
• will be repeating
  progressive
• will have been repeating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of repeat

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English repeten (verb), from Middle French repeter, from Latin repetere “to attack again, demand return of,” equivalent to re- re- + petere “to reach towards, seek” ( cf. perpetual, petulant)

Explanation

You can use the word repeat for things that happen again. You can use the word repeat for things that happen again. When you repeat, you do or say the same thing more than once. Sometimes you need to repeat what you said because someone didn’t hear it or understand it the first time, and other times you might repeat a statement for emphasis — you say it twice to really get your point across; in some cases you'll get "I heard you the first time" in return. Doing something over is another way to repeat, as when you repeat a test or draw a smiley face all over your notebooks in a repeat pattern.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

repeat repeats repeated repeating

But she agreed that July’s dozens-fold repeat of the 2023 attack pointed to a failure to implement and audit CISA’s earlier guidance—guidance that, again, merely amounted to “Set better passwords.”

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026

"We cannot afford to repeat that experience with artificial intelligence, the second digital revolution," she said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

There is something genuinely quite heartbreaking about watching Panettiere, a young woman just coming to understand Hollywood industry standards, repeat the sickly refrains of a similarly demanding profession.

From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026

Bring the foot back to hip distance, shifting your hands and weight to repeat this motion on the other side.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

I had to repeat myself, because someone was trying out Morse code with their car horn in the parking lot.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Thirty six years later, history repeats itself with Madonna’s 14-minute “Confessions II — The Film” earning a nomination for video of the year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

Leeds' new away shirt takes the Yorkshire rose from its club badge and repeats that motif across the base of the shirt.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

Humans are raised to accept such things are part of a cycle that repeats no matter what we do, and regardless of whether whatever we’re doing impacts that cycle.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026

Instead, the agreement largely repeats promises Iran has made before.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026

“Kha-gee-na,” he repeats, stumbling a little on the Kh but getting it mostly right.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

“I wanted you to hear it definitively: We are not selling the Dodgers,” Kasten repeated.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

The amount of material stripped from a star during repeated encounters depends in part on the star's internal structure.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026

Manzur troubled the champion early with repeated right hands, but the Argentine tired as Serrano seized momentum from round nine and finished the fight in control.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

Alcaraz doesn’t appear to be rushing it, as he backed out of Wimbledon and repeated Open tuneups citing his need for further recovery.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

I was surprised when Jillian hadn’t automatically agreed with me, even after I repeated the information Parker and I had used in our winning argument.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

A charge density wave develops when electric charges such as electrons spontaneously organize into a repeating wave pattern.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026

Former Federal Reserve governor Bill Dudley just pointed out many of the signs, which will likely come as no surprise to regular readers of MarketWatch but which are worth repeating.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

“History has a way of repeating itself,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

It has become so common that most assume a top freshman or sophomore are holdbacks, which means repeating a grade or two to look for a competitive advantage in high school.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

There were a lot of humans walking by, so the police kept repeating their words.

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

Related Words

• echo
• recite
• rehash
• reiterate
• renew
• replay
• restate