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

Inflected Forms

noun

• repos
  plural

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

Example Sentences

Turkey’s central bank announces an interest-rate decision on Thursday, when it is expected to leave the one-week repo rate unchanged at 37.00%.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

Bank Indonesia opted to leave its benchmark seven-day reverse repo rate at 4.75%, extending a pause in place since it last loosened policy settings in September.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

It also began to pay interest on reserves and used reverse repurchase, or repo, transactions to keep interest rates on target.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

Banks and other institutions rely daily on that abundance of cash to settle payments, fund trades, and lend to each other overnight in the repo, or repurchase market.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

The repo team was probably already up there by now.

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