restore
Americanverb (used with object)
-
restores,
present (3rd person singular)
-
restored,
past participle, past
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restoring
present participle
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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
-
to bring back to a state of health, soundness, or vigor.
-
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
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to return (something, esp a work of art or building) to an original or former condition
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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
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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
-
restorableadjective
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self-restoringadjective
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unrestorableadjective
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unrestoredadjective
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well-restoredadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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restoresimple
-
restoressimple
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have restoredperfect
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has restoredperfect
-
am restoringprogressive
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are restoringprogressive
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is restoringprogressive
-
have been restoringperfect progressive
-
has been restoringperfect progressive
Past
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restoredsimple
-
had restoredperfect
-
was restoringprogressive
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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
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“Vaccine Controversy Shows Why We Need Markets, Not Mandates” by Ron Paul
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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 company -- which also owns Yves Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta -- unveiled a new strategy in April that aims to restore Gucci's sense of exclusivity.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
In a draft of its shunto negotiation strategy released Thursday, the organization emphasized the need for Japan to restore its international wage standing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
SpaceX’s results and a surprise update from the AI server maker Super Micro have helped to restore some enthusiasm to the artificial-intelligence trade on Wall Street after last week’s tech wreck.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
"Order was lost, and an attempt was made to restore order. I believe that from start to finish, it was a fiasco," he said on Monday.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
The pressure stopped again, and the Boss ordered the men to restore order to the jumbled ship.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
Backshall, who hosted the Wild Heligan experience to excite young people about wildlife, said: "I see every day how nature revitalises, restores and fills people with joy."
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Rosales restores Ever’s multi-dimensionality, reminding the world that her cousin loved mathematics and philosophy, that he never missed a day of high school, and that he was a prankster, lover, father and brother.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
This result suggests that the approach restores the way proteins function rather than simply increasing or decreasing how much of each protein is present.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
Banyan Motors, a Houston-based company that restores 20th-century German cars, says its roster of female clients rose 60% in the past two years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
She climbs the ladder and restores the heavy Audubon volumes to their shelf one at a time, as though putting away something irritating.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Some Ukrainian officials said the system wasn’t restored to full functionality but was working at higher speeds than under the cap.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
“In the meantime, restored crude-oil flows remain precarious and refinery crack spreads are likely to stay high.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
Following “Star Wars Funday Football” and Super Bowl LXI, a newly restored version of “A New Hope” will return to theaters on Feb. 19.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
Hours earlier, an interview the president did with NBC was published, in which he said intelligence sharing had been restored after a three-day pause.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
She had it washed and painted, changed the furniture, restored the garden and planted new flowers, and opened doors and windows so that the dazzling light of summer would penetrate even into the bedrooms.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Unlocking the group’s full potential requires, among other factors, restoring momentum at Gucci and delivering the action plan in China, Chief Executive Luca de Meo said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
"By creating and restoring habitats across whole landscapes, we can provide more space for wildlife and help reverse decades of decline."
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
Although the lawsuit focused on immigration courthouses, the ruling also covered state criminal courthouses, restoring earlier restrictions that barred civil immigration arrests in or near courthouses except in limited circumstances.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
"The task ahead is to move from coping to rebuilding, restoring fiscal space and supply-side resilience."
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
Many lives were saved, but months passed before anyone felt the worst was over; protecting property, restoring sanitation facilities, building temporary shelters, and supplying food and clean water were constant challenges.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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