restore
Americanverb (used with object)
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to bring back into existence, use, or the like; reestablish.
to restore order.
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to bring back to a former, original, or normal condition, as a building, statue, or painting.
- Synonyms:
- mend
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to bring back to a state of health, soundness, or vigor.
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to put back to a former place, or to a former position, rank, etc..
to restore the king to his throne.
-
to give back; make return or restitution of (anything taken away or lost).
-
to reproduce or reconstruct (an ancient building, extinct animal, etc.) in the original state.
- Synonyms:
- rebuild
verb
-
to return (something, esp a work of art or building) to an original or former condition
-
to bring back to health, good spirits, etc
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to return (something lost, stolen, etc) to its owner
-
to reintroduce or re-enforce
to restore discipline
-
to reconstruct (an extinct animal, former landscape, etc)
Synonym Usage
See renew.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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restorablenessnoun
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restorernoun
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quasi-restoredadjective
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restorableadjective
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self-restoringadjective
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unrestorableadjective
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unrestoredadjective
-
well-restoredadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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restoresimple
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restoressimple
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have restoredperfect
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has restoredperfect
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am restoringprogressive
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are restoringprogressive
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is restoringprogressive
-
have been restoringperfect progressive
-
has been restoringperfect progressive
Past
-
restoredsimple
-
had restoredperfect
-
was restoringprogressive
-
were restoringprogressive
-
had been restoringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of restore
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English restoren, from Old French restorer, from Latin restaurāre; see re-, store
Explanation
If you restore furniture for a living, you clean and repair it to bring it back to its original beauty. When you restore something, you are simply bringing it back to what it once was. You are not making it better, nor are you adding something that wasn't there. You can restore a damaged reputation, your health, or an old house, though the latter may be easiest of those three to accomplish. If the electricity goes out, you will have to sit in the dark until the power is restored.
Vocabulary lists containing restore
"What, of This Goldfish, Would You Wish?" Vocabulary from the short story
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“Vaccine Controversy Shows Why We Need Markets, Not Mandates” by Ron Paul
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Chapter 20: Renaissance and Reformation
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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 charter amendment ballot measure approved Tuesday would avoid that result and restore the inadvertently repealed funding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The collaborative research team, led by scientists from Duke University School of Medicine, created a first-of-its-kind therapy designed to restore the normal length of the mRNA that produces SPSB1.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
A bird rarely seen in the UK has been caught on camera in Somerset, raising hopes that work to restore freshwater habitats could provide a refuge for it.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Warsh has vowed repeatedly over the last two months to restore price stability, to disabuse investors of the idea the Fed has implicitly accepted higher inflation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Once it was gone, only another acquisition could restore it.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Refertilization occurs when magma restores chemical components to mantle rock that previously lost them during partial melting.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026
“She will not accept a recovery process that restores the status quo. She is committed to ensuring this community is safer moving forward than it was before the fire began.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
Absent a drastic shift in policymaking that restores Indonesia’s reputation abroad, more pain could lie ahead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
The legislation restores normal funding to agencies including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration and the Secret Service.
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026
She returns the stone inside the model house and restores the wooden panels that make up its roof and twists the chimney back into place and puts the house into the pocket of her dress.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Yurok Tribe construction and fisheries crews pulled up roughly 20 acres of thick asphalt, restored the channel to a mile-long braided waterway and built wetlands and two ponds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Once the MHC-1 complex was restored, immune checkpoint therapy became much more effective against the prostate tumors.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
That balcony, overlooking the treetops of Madison Square Park and the length of Broadway, has now been restored.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Zurbarán’s is a story of a great reputation restored.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
He returned home after things had settled, as the Years of Discord came to an end, as something like that order you speak of was restored.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
In addition to restoring Gucci's sense of exclusivity, the strategy aims to boost leather goods across the whole group.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday took a crucial step toward restoring county funding for initiatives to help keep people out of jail.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Our focus has been on restoring trust, and we are now building on that through a sustained focus on safety, quality and on-time performance.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Beijing said it was “deeply concerned” about vessels and crews stranded in the strait and called for restoring unimpeded passage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Afterward she went about the task of restoring a semblance of order to the mess the police had created.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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.
