resort
Americanverb (used without object)
-
resorts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
resorted,
past participle, past
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resorting
present participle
-
to have recourse for use, help, or accomplishing something, often as a final available option or resource.
to resort to war.
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to go, especially frequently or customarily.
a beach to which many people resort.
noun
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resorts
plural
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a place to which people frequently or generally go for relaxation or pleasure, especially one providing rest and recreation facilities for vacationers.
a popular winter resort.
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habitual or general going, as to a place or person.
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use of or appeal to some person or thing for aid, satisfaction, service, etc.; resource.
to have resort to force;
a court of last resort.
-
a person or thing resorted to for aid, satisfaction, service, etc.
verb
-
(usually foll by to) to have recourse (to) for help, use, etc
to resort to violence
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to go, esp often or habitually; repair
to resort to the beach
noun
-
a place to which many people go for recreation, rest, etc
a holiday resort
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the use of something as a means, help, or recourse
-
the act of going to a place, esp for recreation, rest, etc
-
the last possible course of action open to one
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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resortsimple
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resortssimple
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have resortedperfect
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has resortedperfect
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am resortingprogressive
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are resortingprogressive
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is resortingprogressive
-
have been resortingperfect progressive
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has been resortingperfect progressive
Past
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resortedsimple
-
had resortedperfect
-
was resortingprogressive
-
were resortingprogressive
-
had been resortingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of resort
First recorded in 1325–75; (for the verb) Middle English resorten, from Old French resortir, from re- re- + sortir “to go out, leave, escape” (perhaps ultimately from Latin sortīrī “to draw lots”); noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
The noun resort means "turning to something or someone else for assistance." You tried everything to figure out your math homework on your own, so asking your dad for help was your last resort. Resort, pronounced "re-ZORT," is also a verb that means "to adopt a course of action to improve your situation." It's when you use that last resort: if you can't convince your mom to let you go rock-climbing, you will resort to begging. Resort also means a fancy hotel, usually in a very scenic location, or a place you go often — when your friends didn't know where you were, they checked your resorts: the gym and the park.
Vocabulary lists containing resort
"Arachne"
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Marbury v. Madison (1803)
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"A Poem for My Librarian, Mrs. Long," Vocabulary from the poem
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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:
The island, which is managed by the Landmark Trust, is now pumping water from ponds used by wildlife to a treatment works as a "last resort".
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Lanai has beautiful beaches, a Jack Nicklaus–designed golf course, and dining and resort amenities in the high-end hotels.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Like many on Martha’s Vineyard, a resort island off Cape Cod that’s teeming with ticks this year, I bid a sad farewell to hamburgers, bacon and lamb chops.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
He said the goal is never having to resort to binding arbitration, but that if required, this would allow a “neutral third party” to make the final decision.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
He asked them about their home in Provincetown and their school, about Momma, about living in a summer resort area, about the fishing fleet and about books.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
He resorts to black magic to bring Brunhilda out of her grave, as beautiful as ever yet strangely distant and cold.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
In her hometown of Phuket, a tourist hub known for its beaches and seaside resorts, Nene was known to busk at Naka Weekend Market.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Sandals has 20 resorts on eight islands in the Caribbean, they said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
If you have an extra day or two, there are plenty of nearby lakes, small towns and resorts worth exploring.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
Throughout the years, Dasch held various waiter jobs, working at very expensive restaurants and luxury resorts in New York City and Long Island.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
As with his mother, who wrote tall tales during his Northern Irish youth, Cohn resorted to literary imagination and exaggeration to bring the story to life.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
Todd Luong has resorted to paying his real-estate agents to hold open houses, because no one wants to staff one.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
Now, Swift, despite her strong songwriting skills, has resorted to some pretty rote wordplay in recent years.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
For a decade, Mr. Daniels kept tuition in check, promoted free speech and intellectual diversity, and opened the campus to in-person teaching when many other schools resorted to pandemic lockdowns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
When Moch resorted to that one, Ulbrickson said, “the boys get so hot they have to wrap asbestos around their oar handles to keep the boat from burning up.”
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Paramount’s high-profile lobbying campaign reached a crescendo in late August after Paramount called out activist-actor Mark Ruffalo, accusing him of resorting to “antisemitic tropes” to argue against the merger.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
"The Council also unanimously expresses its concern regarding the repeated unilateral actions taken without resorting to dialogue or to the institutional mechanisms established to address situations of this nature."
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
As some companies pump the brakes on AI spending by resorting to cheaper models, others are going all-in on the most advanced AI systems—even with their hefty price tags.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
But instead, while some players recognised it as the team simply resorting to clearing their lines and regrouping their shape in defence – it was a tactic some didn't agree with.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
For some reason resorting to uncharacteristic, bookish language.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
