restore
Americanverb (used with object)
-
restores,
present (3rd person singular)
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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).
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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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:
Amazon Web Services said it is working to restore services to its Bahrain and U.A.E. facilities and that it has provided billing relief for customers who relied on them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
The finding could help conservationists improve efforts to restore declining crocodile populations.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
It comes down to trying to restore credibility in getting to the 2% Fed inflation target, said Moran of Wellington Management, “and are we wiling to take some of the medicine of cooling the economy?”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 13, 2026
The agency said that if California regulators don’t change the plan, the federal government won’t contribute funds to projects that restore habitat for fish and other wildlife, something endorsed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
It proceeds alone, east toward Stanleyville, where loyal crowds wait to hail their chief, believing with all their hearts that he’ll restore their dreams of a free Congo.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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
Working alongside a largely forgotten network of women, she arranged training, negotiated visa rules, raised funds and corresponded with colleagues in Berlin and Jerusalem—the practical education in politics that Mr. Meyer restores to view.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 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
“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
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
At that time, full capacity was restored within seven days.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
The book’s most exciting element remains its chapter on Viking slavery—the very existence of which had been ignored by historians, but which is here restored to its central, and terrible, place in the Norse economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
They were abolished in 1967 but restored in the 1990s under President Museveni.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
The country restored the pipeline to its full capacity within days.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
She immediately starts checking things out, running her hands over some of the furniture I’ve restored, and looking through the piles I’ve made.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
I love taking something that’s been neglected and restoring it and then using it so it’s not just forgotten.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
"This should be used to continue our joint efforts to address the legacy of Wales' industrial past through restoring coal tips and remediation of contaminated land."
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Many advances in SCD treatment have sought to prevent red blood cells from sickling by restoring protective hemoglobin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Procedures associated with restoring volume or tightening skin also showed strong growth.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 5, 2026
The soldiers had stayed on in Alexandria after restoring Ptolemy XII to power.
From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby
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.
