repo

¹ American  

[ree-poh] / ˈri poʊ /

noun

• repos
  plural

1. a repurchase agreement.

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repo ² American  

[ree-poh] / ˈri poʊ /

noun

• repos
  plural

1. a repossessed property, especially a financed dwelling repossessed by the bank or other financing institution for delinquency of payment and offered for resale.

   We bought this trailer as a repo and have lived in it for 12 years, but now with kids we’re running out of room.

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adjective

1. engaged in or relating to the business of repossessing or taking back high-priced merchandise, such as motor vehicles or machinery, from buyers who have failed to pay.

   I’m told that a repo company can just go to an address, find the car parked, and grab it.

verb (used with object)

1. to repossess or take back (merchandise) from buyers who have failed to pay.

   When their dry cleaning business really began to struggle, the bank repoed all their equipment.

repo ³ American  

[ree-poh] / ˈri poʊ /

noun

Computers Informal.

• repos
  plural

1. repository.

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repo British  

/ ˈriːpəʊ /

noun

1. repurchase agreement

2. 1. repossession of property

   2. ( as modifier )

      a repo car

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• repos
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of repo¹

First recorded in 1960–65; rep(urchase) + -o

Origin of repo²

By shortening of repossess; see -o

Origin of repo³

First recorded in 1990–95

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

repo repos

The Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee voted unanimously to raise its benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50%, ending a pause spanning four consecutive meetings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

India’s central bank is likely to raise its policy repo rate by 25 bps to 5.50% on Wednesday, according to nine out of 10 economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

A repo run helped kill Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

One is a bit wonky: the repo market, where people finance bonds and even equities, is the dark matter of finance.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

The repo team was probably already up there by now.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Government money-market funds own Treasurys and Fed-backed repos, and they are safer when the financial system gets a fever.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 2, 2025

The central bank also injected 105 billion yuan through seven-day reverse repos while keeping borrowing cost unchanged at 1.90%, it said in an online statement.

From Reuters ● Sep. 15, 2023

It lent another 34 billion yuan via 14-day reverse repos at 1.95%, down from 2.15% previously.

From Reuters ● Sep. 15, 2023

The central bank also injected 2 billion yuan through seven-day reverse repos while keeping borrowing costs unchanged at 2.00%, it said in an online statement.

From Reuters ● May 15, 2023

"Framed device of a lion passant crowned and collared, a mullet for difference, on an anchor; with Desir n'a repos, and the date 1586."

From Seven Minor Epics of the English Renaissance (1596-1624) by Paul William Miller

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