replay
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
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an act or instance of replaying.
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a repetition of all or part of a broadcast or of the playing of a phonograph record, videocassette, etc.
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a rematch.
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Informal. a repetition, recurrence, or reenactment.
The recession could be a replay of the Great Depression.
noun
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Also called: action replay. television a showing again of a sequence of action, esp of part of a sporting contest immediately after it happens either in slow motion (a slow-motion replay ) or at normal speed
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a rematch
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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replaysimple
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replayssimple
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have replayedperfect
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has replayedperfect
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am replayingprogressive
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are replayingprogressive
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is replayingprogressive
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have been replayingperfect progressive
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has been replayingperfect progressive
Past
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replayedsimple
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had replayedperfect
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was replayingprogressive
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were replayingprogressive
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had been replayingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of replay
Explanation
When you replay something, you play it again, whether it's a soccer match or a blues tune on your guitar. You can even replay, or repeat, a happy event over and over again in your mind. If you take a video of your kitten playing with a ball of yarn, you can replay it any time you need a little cheering up. And in some sports, teams will replay a game that ends in a tie or is cancelled because of bad weather. This sports meaning is actually the oldest on record for replay, from an 1862 description of a curling match.
Vocabulary lists containing replay
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.
See Examples For:
Swedish clubs are majority-controlled by fans, who mounted a successful movement to block the introduction of the replay technology.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
So Eskas trotted over to a TV monitor, watched a video replay over and over again, and more than 2½ minutes after the goal was recorded, he took it off the board.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
We tell ourselves this stuff should be limited, that replay must only be used for specific situations, but we never limit it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
NFL games have replay after replay and you still need tenured MIT scientists to deduce what constitutes a catch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
I replay the whole night over and over in my head, and how I hated seeing Darius act like that.
From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi
The cameras will act more like computers that also extract data and create 3-D digital twins of the action, which can be used for replays and other viewing experiences.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
In such a world, fans will be able to watch replays from the view of their favorite athlete.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Without the use of video replays, its unlikely any of those calls would have been made and the World Cup quarterfinals would probably look quite different.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
Slow-motion replays show the puck may have struck the protective visor on McNabb’s helmet near his eyes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
Another nightmare replays an incident when Belky was two years old.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
Attorneys on both sides played and replayed the footage over and over, sometimes slowed down to the millisecond in order to show how Jones and his colleagues had approached the incident.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026
These monumental changes arrived in a split second, and I’ve replayed the fall in my mind countless times.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
And when she welcomed past “Top Model” contenders to “The Tyra Banks Show,” including Sullivan, she replayed footage of her assault on air despite Sullivan expressly asking her not to.
From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2026
During REM sleep, scientists replayed the soundtracks linked to half of the unsolved puzzles to selectively reactivate those memories.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 15, 2026
Readick played and replayed the recording until he was able to imitate the same reaction when his character sees the extraterrestrials emerge from their spaceship.
From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow
Who’s going to be the brilliant video forensicist replaying Balogun’s red carded contact against the uncalled cleat of Leo Messi in Argentina’s opener?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
Once the exam is over there is nothing you can change about it, Bruff says, and replaying it will only drain you.
From BBC ● May 1, 2026
“I keep replaying it and just thinking of the what if,” she told the outlet, adding that she’s grateful Grau decided to nap in his bedroom that day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2026
I revisited decades of regrets, replaying what I should have said or done differently, wishing I had shown more kindness in tough moments.
From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2025
Director Van Helsing's words keep replaying in my head.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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.
