reset
Americanverb (used with object)
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resets,
present (3rd person singular)
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reset,
past participle, past
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resetting
present participle
-
to set again.
to reset an alarm clock; to reset a broken bone.
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to set, adjust, or fix in a new or different way.
to reset priorities; to reset prices.
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to illegally set back the odometer on (an auto or other vehicle) to a lower reading.
a used-car dealer charged with resetting his cars.
verb (used without object)
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resets,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reset,
past participle, past
-
resetting
present participle
noun
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resets
plural
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an act or instance of setting again.
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an act or instance of setting, adjusting, or fixing something in a new or different way.
A reset of relations between the two countries may be impossible. Company executives recognized the need for a reset in their business.
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something that is set again.
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a plant that is replanted.
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a device used in resetting an instrument or control mechanism.
verb
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to set again (a broken bone, matter in type, a gemstone, etc)
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to restore (a gauge, dial, etc) to zero
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Also: clear. to restore (the contents of a register or similar device) in a computer system to zero
noun
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the act or an instance of setting again
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a thing that is set again
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a plant that has been recently transplanted
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a device for resetting instruments, controls, etc
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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resetsimple
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resetssimple
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have resetperfect
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has resetperfect
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am resettingprogressive
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are resettingprogressive
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is resettingprogressive
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have been resettingperfect progressive
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has been resettingperfect progressive
Past
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resetsimple
-
had resetperfect
-
was resettingprogressive
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were resettingprogressive
-
had been resettingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reset
Explanation
When you reset something, you start it over again or adjust it. If you accidentally set your alarm to go off at 3:00 am, you'll have to sleepily reset it for 7:00 am. You may like to reset your car's odometer before starting a long trip, so you can keep track of your gas mileage. Or, you might tend to reset your alarm clock on the weekends, so it wakes you later. You can also reset many electronics by essentially making them go back to zero, or to a starting point: "I need to reset my cellphone to the original factory settings."
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:
He creates a buffer ETF ladder with staggered reset dates and maturities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
The Guardian says: "Labour wants 'deeper' ties to EU under Burnham, says minister", quoting Prime Minister Andy Burnham's "new chief post-Brexit negotiator" and cabinet minister "in charge of the EU reset talks" Hamish Falconer.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Gains have been helped this week by hopes that the US-Iran truce will be reset after weeks of tit-for-tat strikes.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
“Importantly, the reset occurred through rotation, deleveraging, and stronger fundamentals, not through a deterioration in the macroeconomic backdrop,” he added.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
Whoever had created this section of the Axrenox cityscape hadn’t bothered to reset the security codes in the template.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Even now, when I step into that water, something in me resets.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
“Summer store resets are accelerating, and we’ve been impressed by what we’ve seen so far,” he writes.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
In his view, price resets don’t indicate the end of the cycle, but rather a necessity to elongate the boom.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026
Destiny 2 was released in 2017 and over its near nine years of raids, loot drops and weekly resets, Bungie has undergone some difficult changes.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
We have—what—five weeks of normalcy, and then the whole world resets.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
Other states, such as California, have laws discouraging selling by only resetting values for local real estate taxes when properties change hands.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
A year later, California entered the union as a free state, resetting the national debate on free versus slave states, eleven years before the Civil War.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
But Kendall said the ban was "as much about helping future generations and resetting social norms in future as it is about young people today".
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
Citigroup has succeeded under Chief Executive Jane Fraser in resetting the bar for itself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
While the boy went up and down the empty hallways, cleaning banisters with bleach water, Etta came by the kitchen to report that Arnold Myerson had gotten sick, resetting the quarantine clock.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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.
