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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

He was dropped on Monday from Sheeran's line-up, just days before the tour was set to resume in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

"And if the government doesn't resume subsidies for electricity and gas, higher generation costs could lift headline inflation well above three percent," said Thieliant, who expects rates to hit two percent by mid-2027.

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

The East-West system consists of two parallel pipelines that use separate pumping infrastructure, meaning one line could potentially resume operations after safety checks even while repairs continue on the other.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

But in “I Disagree,” she goes beyond her impressive resume to reveal her insecurities — unusual in the ego driven TV news business — and tells readers how she’s tried to resolve them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

When he went off to work on his resume, I decided to stay out of the plants and the sunny places for the rest of today while I get used to things around here.

From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones

Finding a job these days may require using AI for more than just résumé writing.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

Employment experts say that part of that discrepancy may be due to the personal touch a real person can add to their résumé that AI just can’t provide on its own.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

The key to a killer résumé is your perfect scrambled eggs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

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

From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026

“Did you hire that Chris guy? His résumé looked good.”

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Still, using AI to write resumes is on the rise.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

Some job seekers could get an edge in this labor market by actually writing their own resumes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Syarifah said the school would offer extra lessons for free once in-person learning resumes.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

“Slow Horses” resumes for its sixth season Wednesday, Sept. 16 on Apple TV.

From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026

They’d say, ‘Okay, then just show us your resumes.’

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Iran has managed to dig out missiles trapped in underground facilities by U.S. attacks early in the war and has recently resumed production of new missiles from stockpiled parts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

NBC resumed its live coverage, which included a news conference near the site of the helicopter crash.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Before the jury resumed their deliberations on Monday 14 September, the coroner Mr Justice Rooney announced that one juror, who had taken part in the previous phase of the deliberations, had been discharged.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

She knew kids risked being sent home when classes resumed in late August — a scenario that would disrupt not just their learning but create a logistical nightmare for working families.

From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026

Instead I returned to Marion and resumed teaching, this time alongside Jimmie, who had also begun teaching at Carnegie Elementary.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Kinsella's pioneering journey back to the sport is so rare it became the subject of a university research paper into elite gymnasts resuming their careers after giving birth.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

One of the world's biggest tin mines, located in an autonomous region of war-torn Myanmar, is resuming operations suspended since 2023 and ramping up exports to China, a think tank said Thursday.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

Even if a governor rescinds the moratorium, resuming executions would be a long and complicated process because the state has no approved protocol or facilities to carry out death sentences.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Talwani, in a ruling last week, criticized the Postal Service for resuming work on the project.

From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026

She turned to him as they made their way to the dressing room, stopping right beside a couple of people stretching their hamstrings, who paused to give them thumbs-up signs before resuming their stretches.

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

Related Words

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