repetition

[rep-i-tish-uh n]

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noun

the act of repeating, or doing, saying, or writing something again; repeated action, performance, production, or presentation.

repeated utterance; reiteration.

something made by or resulting from repeating.

a reproduction, copy, or replica.

Civil Law. an action or demand for the recovery of a payment or delivery made by error or upon failure to fulfill a condition.

Origin of repetition

1375–1425; late Middle English (< Old French repeticion) < Latin repetītiōn- (stem of repetītiō), equivalent to repetīt(us) (past participle of repetere to repeat) + -iōn- -ion

Related formsnon·rep·e·ti·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for repetition

recurrence, repeat, reiteration, litany, rhythm, echo, relation, restatement, redundancy, renewal, paraphrase, return, reappearance, practice, rehearsal, replication, report, copy, recapitulation, chant

Examples from the Web for repetition

Contemporary Examples of repetition

Kendrick rapidly chants these last lines in repetition with Bilal and Anna Wise sing-shouting behind him, like a rallying cry.
Kendrick Lamar Shuts Down ‘The Colbert Report’ with Untitled Track
Charlise Ferguson
December 17, 2014
"Nowhere to run ain't got nowhere to go," Springsteen sings before launching into the "Born in the U.S.A." chorus in repetition.
Are Politicians Too Dumb to Understand the Lyrics to ‘Born in the USA’?
Parker Molloy
November 6, 2014
The repetition of that became as tastelessly titillating as showing us a torn arm or a decomposing torso.
To Truly Shame Putin, Show Us the Bodies of MH17
Tim Teeman
July 22, 2014
In contrast to past beliefs, repetition may reduce the fidelity of memory representations.
Repetition Doesn’t Work: Better Ways to Train Your Memory
Gregory Ferenstein
July 12, 2014
Over the long run, repetition can be a false temptress, making us think we've learning something when we really haven't.
Repetition Doesn’t Work: Better Ways to Train Your Memory
Gregory Ferenstein
July 12, 2014

Historical Examples of repetition

We hear them read far too often and far too badly, and all repetition is anti-spiritual.
De Profundis
Oscar Wilde
This repetition was in a loud voice, so that any juryman dull of hearing might catch it.
The Underdog
F. Hopkinson Smith
Magua shook his head, forbidding the repetition of offers he so much despised.
The Last of the Mohicans
James Fenimore Cooper
At every repetition of the word he pressed his grandson closer to his breast.
Life And Adventures Of Martin Chuzzlewit
Charles Dickens
There was no repetition of the telepathic means of communication.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, November, 1930
Various

British Dictionary definitions for repetition

repetition

noun

the act or an instance of repeating; reiteration

a thing, word, action, etc, that is repeated

a replica or copy

civil law Scots law the recovery or repayment of money paid or received by mistake, as when the same bill has been paid twice

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for repetition

early 15c., "act of saying over again," from Old French repetition and directly from Latin repetitionem (nominative repetitio) "a repeating," noun of action from past participle stem of repetere "do or say again" (see repeat (v.)). Of actions, attested from 1590s.