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• resume
  resume

  verb (used with object)

  to take up or go on with again after interruption; continue.
• résumé
  résumé

  noun

  a short descriptive summary, as of events

Trivia Time

Resume, in the sense of "a written account of professional qualifications," comes from a French word meaning what?

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resume

¹ American  

[ri-zoom] / rɪˈzum /

verb (used with object)

• resumes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• resumed,
  past participle,  past
• resuming
  present participle

1. to take up or go on with again after interruption; continue.

   to resume a journey.

2. to take or occupy again.

   to resume one's seat.

3. to take or assume use or practice of again.

   to resume her maiden name.

4. to take back.

   to resume the title to a property.

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verb (used without object)

• resumes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• resumed,
  past participle,  past
• resuming
  present participle

1. to go on or continue after interruption.

   The dancing is about to resume.

2. to begin again.

resume ² American  

[rez-oo-mey, rez-oo-mey] / ˈrɛz ʊˌmeɪ, ˌrɛz ʊˈmeɪ /

Sometimes resumé or résumé

noun

1. a brief written account of personal, educational, and professional qualifications and experience, as that prepared by an applicant for a job.

2. a summing up; summary.

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resume ¹ British  

/ rɪˈzjuːm /

verb

1. to begin again or go on with (something adjourned or interrupted)

2. (tr) to occupy again, take back, or recover

   to resume one's seat

   to resume possession

3. (tr) to assume (a title, office, etc) again

   to resume the presidency

4. archaic to summarize; make a résumé of

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résumé ² British  

/ ˈrɛzjʊˌmeɪ /

noun

1. a short descriptive summary, as of events

2. another name for curriculum vitae

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Spelling

Some French words borrowed into English preserve foreign features, like accent marks: café , déjà vu , résumé , séance , etc. In French, accent marks serve two purposes. They can mark a different vowel quality (the vowels e , è and é are pronounced very differently), or they may distinguish two words that would otherwise be homographs ( ou without an accent means “or,” while où with an accent means “where”). When you use these words in English, it is correct to write them with the French accents or without; the spellings divorcée and divorcee are both accepted. Some people prefer including the accent for accuracy or to evoke a subtle European flavor. The inclusion or omission of an accent mark when naming an establishment cafe or café suggests a certain expectation for the style and tone of the place. Other people find any use of a foreign accent mark to be unnecessary and pretentious. Be aware of your audience when making this decision. As in the original French, accents are useful for differentiating between two homographs. English speakers are more likely to keep the accents in a word like résumé or exposé in order to avoid confusion with the verbs resume or expose . Words without confusable English counterparts, like deja vu or cafe , are less likely to maintain their accents in written English. Generally, the use of foreign accents for words borrowed into English is optional. However, if you do choose to use accented letters, be sure to use the correct accent and be consistent within the word. For example, déjà vu has an acute (rising) accent mark in the first syllable and a grave (falling) accent in the second. The word résumé has two acute accent marks. Avoid haphazard or false accent marking, as sometimes seen in the spellings dejá vu or resumé . The best rule to follow for foreign accent marks is all or nothing.

Usage

Spelling tips for resume There are two words that use the spelling resume, and they’re pronounced very differently, which can make things confusing. As a verb meaning “to continue,” resume is pronounced [ ri-zoom ], which can sound like it should be spelled rezoom. As a noun referring to a list of a person’s professional qualifications, resume is pronounced [ rez-oo-mey ]. To reflect this pronunciation, the noun is sometimes spelled in the French manner, with accent marks (résumé or resumé), but they are not required and it is better to avoid using them. How to spell resume: First, remember that you don’t need any accent marks to spell the noun resume. You can remember how to spell the middle part by remembering that a resume should include the sum of your professional accomplishments. Then just remember that the verb that means “to continue” is spelled the exact same way.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• resumer
  noun
• resumable
  adjective
• unresumed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• resuming
  present
• resumed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• resume
  simple
• resumes
  simple
• have resumed
  perfect
• has resumed
  perfect
• am resuming
  progressive
• are resuming
  progressive
• is resuming
  progressive
• have been resuming
  perfect progressive
• has been resuming
  perfect progressive

Past

• resumed
  simple
• had resumed
  perfect
• was resuming
  progressive
• were resuming
  progressive
• had been resuming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will resume
  simple
• will have resumed
  perfect
• will be resuming
  progressive
• will have been resuming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of resume¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English resumen, from Middle French resumer or directly from Latin resūmere “to take back, take again,” equivalent to re- “again, back” + sūmere “to take”; see re-, consume

Origin of resume²

First recorded in 1795–1805; from French résumé, noun use of past participle of résumer “to sum up”

Explanation

If you resume something, you start it again after stopping. You might resume singing an aria after breaking to spit out your gum. Resume is from Latin resumere "to take up again, take back," from the prefix re- "again" plus sumere "to take up, take." The Latin verb sumere is formed from the prefix sub- "under, up" plus emere "to take." When you pause a movie or game and then you press play again, what you're really doing is resuming play.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

resume résumé resumes resumed resuming

At that point, prospects of conditions improving sufficiently for play to resume seemed remote.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

Oman, which sits on the other side of Hormuz from Iran, has been discussing with Tehran a temporary transit corridor to enable traffic to resume.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

Oil prices fell on Wednesday, extending a slide, after Iran and Oman said they discussed a temporary deal to resume shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

On Saturday, voters in this island nation of almost 400,000 people will decide whether their country should resume talks on joining the EU.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

“Unless progress is made on a daily basis,” they told him, “we cannot promise that mass demonstrations will not resume at any time.”

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

“AI has made hiring super difficult because everybody’s résumé is super perfect. Everybody has the right answer.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

Then again, with a major financial advantage and a flawed opponent, she didn’t need a résumé.

From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026

Don’t forget—adding a quirky hobby to your résumé can help in your job hunt.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

But despite that lack of résumé, Graham triumphed on Tuesday.

From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026

The résumé spun and plunged to the ground.

From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson

If the U.S. can keep the nuclear program in check and traffic resumes in the strait, then Trump is more likely to extend the current ceasefire indefinitely, the officials said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

When the cooking resumes, several salmon cakes have already been shaped and set aside.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026

May 27: Boeing resumes production of the 737 MAX at low volumes.

From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026

"Once it resumes normal operations, Swift could continue searching for more examples of out-of-place black holes."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

The assistant director resumes looking at his manuscript, though it is clear to von Rumpel that he is no longer reading.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Snell soon returned and resumed with a 1-and-1 count on Lee.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026

When play resumed, China's Chang took control, winning two frames in a row to lead 4-2.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

Since wartime executions resumed on March 19, two people have also been executed in connection with the "Woman. Life. Freedom." protests that erupted in 2022.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

County’s defense lawyers balked at joining Hochman’s motion to freeze payouts and resumed transferring money to an escrow fund set up to compensate plaintiffs and their lawyers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

The domovoi vanished and then reappeared a moment later on the other side of Sigurd’s head, where he resumed his attack.

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

Equally, the No vote would not rule out the chance of Iceland resuming talks in the future.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

Edwin Díaz will be used in less-stressful situations upon his return from neck inflammation before potentially resuming closing responsibilities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

“That said, there is still a meaningful gap between talks resuming and the Strait of Hormuz fully reopening,” he added.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026

Also, Iran said on Tuesday that it rejected an Omani plan for resuming traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, presenting its own proposal that would give Tehran more control over shipping in the key waterway.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

The bacteria grew exponentially at first, as expected, but then paused for a while before resuming growth again.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• continue
• go on
• proceed
• regain
• reopen
• restart
• return to
• take up