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

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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)

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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 his opening did not repeat June’s detailed discussion of a French rap video featuring fires or its explicit description of revenge against society as a motive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

Investors are already wondering whether history will repeat itself.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026

He won a second term on the promise to repeat the economic success of his first.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

That first study, which his team has been able to repeat in multiple locations around the world, piggybacked off the rollout of the live-attenuated shingles vaccine in Wales in 2013.

From Slate ● Nov. 1, 2026

Instead, I bake more banana chocolate chip muffins than Mom and I can eat, and I watch This Is Us on repeat.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

The pattern repeats ad nauseum, in slightly different permutations.

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026

"There are dark chapters in history that we must nevertheless be aware of. And yes, history undoubtedly repeats itself," she said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

The primary theme repeats a climbing four-note figure three times before a sudden plunge of a full octave.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

While not deterministic — elite firstborns like John McEnroe and Novak Djokovic remain towering counter-examples, and both had younger siblings that played professionally — the later-born tilt repeats across the athletic landscape.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

Come on, Jay, come on repeats inside my head.

From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Court records show that this agreement was reached after repeated pressure from Jimenez’s attorneys to force prosecutors to produce records and a judge’s decision to side with the defense.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

In 2024, repeated earnings shortfalls led to a plunging stock price and pressure for change from activist hedge fund Glenview Capital Management.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

The numbers suggest repeated success was always going to be difficult.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

The scientists then examined whether repeated treatment could produce sustained changes in body weight.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026

“Challah?” the boy repeated, testing out the phlegmy-sounding ch pronunciation.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

Corinne Mills, joint managing director of Personal Career Management, says that it can be worth asking an interviewer to clarify any weird questions, perhaps by repeating the question back to them.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

When a liquid cools quickly enough, its atoms become locked into a disordered arrangement rather than forming the repeating pattern found in crystals.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026

Slavich can be heard repeating “Oh my God” in the video.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

After a pianissimo, ambient rumble combined with a brisk layer of tapping, both produced inside the piano, a gentle, melancholy theme is played on the keyboard, repeating and gradually expanding.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

He sounded bored of repeating the story we’d all had drummed into us, and I felt guilty and apologetic.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

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Related Words

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

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