restitute
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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to make restitution for.
-
to restore to a former state or position.
Usage
What does restitute mean? Restitute means to make restitution—payment or some other form of compensation to make up for loss, damage, or injury that has been caused. The word restitution is much more commonly used than the verb restitute. Restitution can also refer to the act or process of restituting. The point of restitution is to return what has been lost or stolen or to repair the damage or injury that has been done so that things can be returned to how they originally were or as close as possible. The word is especially used in a legal context to refer to compensation that is required by someone who has caused loss, damage, or injury as part of a crime. Restitution often involves monetary payments, but it can involve other forms of compensation. Example: The defendant was ordered to pay $1 million dollars to restitute for injuries and property damage.
Etymology
Origin of restitute
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin restitūtus, past participle of restituere to set up again, restore, equivalent to re- re- + -stitū-, variant stem of -stituere (combining form of statuere to set upright, derivative of stāre to stand ) + -tus past participle suffix
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 would like to see "more freedom for museums, but then a kind of backstop, a committee where we would have to appeal if we wanted to restitute items".
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2024
The panel advised the bank to restitute the 1907 tempera painting, “Colorful Life,” to the heirs of Emanuel Albert Lewenstein, the director of a sewing machine factory, and his wife, Hedwig Lewenstein Weyermann.
From New York Times ● Jul. 24, 2023
The decision to restitute them follows several years of contacts between Berlin’s museum authority and Colombia, and an official Colombian request last year for their return.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 16, 2023
Macron said the 26 pieces will be given back at the end of October, “because to restitute these works to Africa is to give African young people access to their culture.”
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 8, 2021
The fact is she adores her son, and her heart is breaking at the idea that he may be obliged to restitute what he has stolen from me.
From The Widow Lerouge by Gaboriau, Émile
In 2024, the Manhyia Palace Museum received 67 restituted or loaned cultural objects from institutions including the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Fowler Museum in Los Angeles.
From Barron's ● Nov. 10, 2025
John Littman said the family has worked to get around eight pieces restituted.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2019
Kirchner’s record is another restituted work, “Berlin Street Scene” from 1913-14, that sold at Christie’s for $38.1 million, over its $24 million high estimate, in 2006.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2018
He owns pieces that were stolen by Nazis and restituted to the owners’ descendants in the past few years.
From New York Times ● Feb. 12, 2015
I put it in the hands of my Lieutenant, and I restituted the surface of the dominion, as it had been in the time of Gunzinan, the preceding King.
From Babylonian and Assyrian Literature by Anonymous
The agency said it had "detected fraudulent diversion of public money by various Reliance Anil Ambani group companies" and that it was "committed to restituting" the proceeds of these crimes to "their rightful claimants".
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2025
The majority of descendants live in the United States and Israel, but the museum has already or is in the process of also restituting silver pieces to France, Great Britain, Australia and Mexico.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 13, 2023
The Met said in a statement that it was following its “long and well-documented history of responding to claims regarding works of art, restituting objects where appropriate.”
From New York Times ● Oct. 24, 2021
“Restituting the Iraqi artifacts for me means restituting our self-esteem and confidence in Iraqi society,” he said, speaking through a translator.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 23, 2021
Some cases have made their way through the courts, but Poland has never passed a comprehensive law that would regulate restituting or compensating seized properties.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 14, 2021
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.
