review
Americannoun
-
reviews
plural
-
a critical article or report, as in a periodical, on a book, play, recital, or the like; critique; evaluation.
-
the process of going over a subject again in study or recitation in order to fix it in the memory or summarize the facts.
-
an exercise designed or intended for study of this kind.
-
a general survey of something, especially in words; a report or account of something.
-
an inspection or examination by viewing, especially a formal inspection of any military or naval force, parade, or the like.
-
a periodical publication containing articles on current events or affairs, books, art, etc..
a literary review.
-
a judicial reexamination, as by a higher court, of the decision or proceedings in a case.
-
a second or repeated view of something.
- Synonyms:
- reexamination, reconsideration
-
a viewing of the past; contemplation or consideration of past events, circumstances, or facts.
-
Bridge. a recapitulation of the bids made by all players.
-
Theater. revue.
verb (used with object)
-
reviews,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reviewed,
past participle, past
-
reviewing
present participle
-
to go over (lessons, studies, work, etc.) in review.
-
to view, look at, or look over again.
-
to inspect, especially formally or officially.
to review the troops.
-
to survey mentally; take a survey of.
to review the situation.
-
to discuss (a book, play, etc.) in a critical review; write a critical report upon.
- Synonyms:
- criticize
-
to look back upon; view retrospectively.
-
to present a survey of in speech or writing.
-
Law. to reexamine judicially.
a decision to review the case.
-
Bridge. to repeat and summarize (all bids made by the players).
verb (used without object)
-
reviews,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reviewed,
past participle, past
-
reviewing
present participle
verb
-
to look at or examine again
to review a situation
-
to look back upon (a period of time, sequence of events, etc); remember
he reviewed his achievements with pride
-
to inspect, esp formally or officially
the general reviewed his troops
-
to read through or go over in order to correct
-
law to re-examine (a decision) judicially
-
to write a critical assessment of (a book, film, play, concert, etc), esp as a profession
noun
-
Also called: reviewal. the act or an instance of reviewing
-
a general survey or report
a review of the political situation
-
a critical assessment of a book, film, play, concert, etc, esp one printed in a newspaper or periodical
-
-
a publication containing such articles
-
( capital when part of a name )
the Saturday Review
-
-
a second consideration; re-examination
-
a retrospective survey
-
a formal or official inspection
-
Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): revision. the process of rereading a subject or notes on it, esp in preparation for an examination
-
law judicial re-examination of a case, esp by a superior court
-
a less common spelling of revue
Usage
What is a basic definition of review? A review is judgement or discussion of the quality of something. Review also means to go over a subject again as part of study or to look at something another time. Review has many other senses as both a noun and a verb. A review is a critique of something—a look at something’s good and bad points. Reviews are very common in every industry, and many people rely on them to learn more about something they are interested in, especially something they want to buy. A person who writes a review is a reviewer.
- Real-life examples: You can find reviews of almost anything online, such as movies, books, vacation spots, and schools. Websites like Amazon, Google Maps, and Rotten Tomatoes offer reviews of things. Most companies will even boast about good reviews that they get.
- Used in a sentence: I want to see the new movie because I heard it got good reviews.
- Used in a sentence: Cho began her career by reviewing television shows for her YouTube channel.
- Real-life examples: One of the main reasons teachers assign homework is so students will review the topics they learned that day. College students will often review an entire semester’s worth of notes the night before an important exam.
- Used in a sentence: Diego reviewed the geometry chapters with his tutor to understand the math better.
- Used in a sentence: Prof. Lopez led the review of the properties of the noble gases.
- Real-life examples: Someone putting together furniture will likely review the directions many times before they're done. A chef will review a recipe that they are trying for the first time to make sure they don’t make a mistake. A writer will review their work for errors or grammar mistakes before giving it to an editor.
- Used in a sentence: Lola reviewed her letter to Santa Claus to make sure she included everything she wanted.
Synonym Usage
Review, criticism imply careful examination of something, formulation of a judgment, and statement of the judgment, usually in written form. A review is a survey over a whole subject or division of it, or especially an article making a critical reconsideration and summary of something written: a review of the latest book on Chaucer. A criticism is a judgment, usually in an article, either favorable or unfavorable or both: a criticism of a proposed plan. The words are interchanged when referring to motion pictures or theater, but review implies a somewhat less formal approach than criticism in referring to literary works: movie reviews; play reviews; book reviews.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
nonreviewabilitynoun
-
prereviewnoun
-
reviewabilitynoun
-
reviewernoun
-
rereviewverb
-
nonreviewableadjective
-
reviewableadjective
-
reviewlessadjective
-
unreviewableadjective
-
unreviewedadjective
-
well-reviewedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
reviewsimple
-
reviewssimple
-
have reviewedperfect
-
has reviewedperfect
-
am reviewingprogressive
-
are reviewingprogressive
-
is reviewingprogressive
-
have been reviewingperfect progressive
-
has been reviewingperfect progressive
Past
-
reviewedsimple
-
had reviewedperfect
-
was reviewingprogressive
-
were reviewingprogressive
-
had been reviewingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of review
First recorded in 1555–65; from Middle French revue, noun use of feminine past participle of revoir “to see again,” ultimately from Latin revidēre, equivalent to re- re- + vidēre “to see”; see view
Explanation
To review means to look back over something for evaluation or memory. "The year in review" is a popular form of news feature near the end of December. If your boss wants to give you a review, she wants to look over the history of your job performance. A doctor might review your medical record to help diagnose your sickness. The review of a book or movie often evaluates the work in question based on its strong and weak points, sometimes ending with a recommendation (or a dismissal). Before a big test, you might want to review ("brush up on") your notes.
Vocabulary lists containing review
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 1
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 1
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
In a review article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Boston University professor Nancy Sullivan argues that outbreak preparedness needs to extend beyond the infectious diseases that receive the most attention.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
Critics said the overhaul opened up a path for advanced manufacturing facilities such as strip miners, chemical producers, battery recyclers and semiconductor plants to open in communities without any environmental review.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
An "independent review" of Fifa's finances should be commissioned, it added, with "full access to the underlying figures and assumptions".
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Days later, then-Fed Chair Jerome Powell tapped Barr to publish a review of the episode within weeks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Colin removes the sandwiches from his rucksack and we review our findings.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
![]()
Discussions about changing the regulations regularly stall, with concerns about the quality of communications worldwide, added pressure on officials during reviews and that the credibility of referees could be affected.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Two A-level exam boards have since announced reviews of how they teach the inductive effect and directly cited the research as part of the reason for doing so.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
The U.S. doesn’t do national maternal mortality reviews, said Boston University’s Declercq, who serves on the Massachusetts Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
"Critics' reviews are weak like they were the first time, but the audience score is very good," said industry watcher David A. Gross.
From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026
“You sent me the reviews, if you recall.”
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
![]()
This account is based on interviews with people familiar with the interactions, as well as documentation reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Submitted to the US Air Force shortly afterwards, the footage later became one of the visual cases reviewed by Project Blue Book, the Air Force's UFO investigation programme, which ran from 1952 to 1969.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
The Times interviewed several experts, who reviewed recordings of the chopper’s final moments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Doctors who reviewed the case for ProPublica all told the news outlet that, given Walker’s medical risks, she should have been offered an abortion.
From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026
I hadn't reviewed the trial transcript yet, but I did remember that the judge's last name was Key.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
![]()
TfW said it was "actively reviewing" how to communicate alternative ticketing options to customers.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Uber told customers it was reviewing Tran’s account, but evidence at the arbitration showed that the company didn’t review Tran’s incidents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
The NCO advises reviewing your beneficiary designations to make sure they’re current, and making a list of all assets.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
Chief Executive Bob Wright is also reviewing the company’s trials of artificial intelligence in drive-throughs to determine whether it is serving customers and restaurant operators.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Courts are deeply resistant to reviewing claims once a condemned prisoner has completed the appeals process the first time.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
![]()
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.