resort
Americanverb (used without object)
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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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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.
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a person or thing resorted to for aid, satisfaction, service, etc.
verb
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(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
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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
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the act of going to a place, esp for recreation, rest, etc
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the last possible course of action open to one
Other Word Forms
- preresort verb (used without object)
- resorter noun
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
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.
Some 22 years on, there was a near-identical event at Le Constellation bar in the equally snowy ski resort of Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in the early hours of New Year's Day 2026.
From BBC
Last weekend in France, six skiers died after being caught in avalanches in various Alpine resorts.
From BBC
Dormant since 1985, the distillery recently announced it would reopen, and build the region’s first “whisky resort,” complete with a spa, a five-star hotel and a bistro housed in a former piggery.
“I kind of think of ads as a last resort for us for a business model.”
A 2025 Amnesty International report identified 22 scam locations in the coastal resort, out of a total of 53 in the country.
From Barron's
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.
