Illustration of repeat
- repeat 1b
repeated; repeating; repeats
1
2
a
: to make, do, or perform again
repeat an experiment
b
: to make appear again
the curtains repeat the wallpaper pattern
will repeat the program tomorrow
c
: to go through or experience again
had to repeat third grade
3
: to express or present (oneself) again in the same words, terms, or form
: to say, do, or accomplish something again
especially
: to win something (such as a sports championship) another time in succession
1
a
: something repeated : repetition
b
: a musical passage to be repeated in performance
also
: a sign placed before and after such a passage
c
: a usually transcribed repetition of a radio or television program
d
: a duplication of genetic material (such as a sequence of nucleotides) in which the duplicated parts are adjacent to each other along the chromosome
2
: the act of repeating
: of, relating to, or being one that repeats an offense, achievement, or action
a repeat burglar
a repeat customer
Synonyms
Examples of repeat in a Sentence
Verb
Will you repeat the question?
He kept repeating the same thing over and over.
He often has to ask people to repeat themselves because he's a little deaf.
Repeat after me: “I promise to do my best…”.
You are simply repeating, in slightly different words, what has been said already.
My five-year-old can repeat her favorite stories word for word.
Noun
Most of the customers are repeats.
No, I don't want to watch that. It's a repeat.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2024
To support their beloved neighborhood — and with history once again repeating itself — residents take matters into their own hands to support those in need.
—Morgan Fischer, The Arizona Republic, 22 Apr. 2024
If the stain remains, repeat the process until the stain is gone.
—Audrey Noble, Vogue, 22 Apr. 2024
With pure angel numbers like 000, 111, or 222, look to the meaning of the digit that is repeated.
—Meg Walters, Glamour, 22 Apr. 2024
As the saying goes, history likes to repeat itself, and immersing oneself in previous epochs and learning from the past carries significant weight for current and future generations.
—Tyler Shepherd, USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2024
Jasmine immediately took the girl to the hospital, where the child gave doctors the same account and then repeated it again to the police, according to court documents.
—Maria Cramer, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2024
Neither has dented Israel’s war effort, even if the Houthis repeated attacks off the coast of Yemen have succeeded in disrupting global shipping.
—Afshon Ostovar, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2024
Meyer, who had a preference for using concrete, specialized in designing large-scale buildings with symmetry and repeating patterns, the technical report states.
—Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Apr. 2024
Mathew Miranda, Sacramento Bee, 24 Apr. 2024
After failing to even be nominated in previous years, Cher, Peter Frampton, Foreigner, Ozzy Osbourne and Kool & The Gang will all be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s class of 2024, alongside repeat nominees Mary J. Blige, Dave Matthews Band and hip-hop innovators A Tribe Called Quest.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Apr. 2024
The show, which just received multiple Daytime Emmy nominations, is set to air repeats through Friday, with the production's accompanying Behind the Table podcast also going dark for that period.
—EW.com, 22 Apr. 2024
Their journey to make a repeat appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals — and potentially win it all for the first time in the franchise’s 30-year history — begins at 12:30 p.m. Sunday at Amerant Bank Arena with Game 1 of their best-of-7 series against the in-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2024
With the emergence of generative AI, however, fraudsters may be able to outsmart the tools put in place to keep them at bay, solving problems like trap questions and eliminating giveaways like repeat answers and gibberish.
—Kaleigh Rogers, ABC News, 19 Apr. 2024
Before Prop 47, a second conviction would become a felony, but the 2014 initiative eliminated consequences for repeat offenses.
—John Woolfolk, The Mercury News, 18 Apr. 2024
Nye and Batey did not respond to the Statesman, and neither did Dan Estes, spokesperson for the attorney general’s office, despite repeat requests over a month.
—Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 17 Apr. 2024
And Spain’s La Liga hasn’t had a repeat winner in five years.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
That’s because Hardman’s counterpart at CVS, Ben Dugan, had connected a group of repeat shoplifters at the chain to the pawnshop.
—Jeannette Neumann, Fortune, 20 Mar. 2024
The authors of the report wrote that patients with persistent false-positive results and a history of autoimmune disease with rheumatoid factor may benefit from repeat COVID testing with a different brand of rapid antigen test.
—Alyssa Hui, Verywell Health, 1 Mar. 2024
This can be achieved by keeping violent offenders incarcerated and preventing bail for repeat violent offenders.
—Steve Hershey, Baltimore Sun, 22 Jan. 2024
The news comes as the organization warns of the yet unknown dangers of repeat COVID infection, which can occur without symptoms.
—Erin Prater, Fortune Well, 12 Jan. 2024
On the left, progressives managed to persuade centrist Democrats that Clinton-era tough-on-crime policies, such as lengthy prison terms for drug crimes and mandatory life sentences for repeat violent offenders, had done more harm than good.
—Neil Gross, The Atlantic, 22 Dec. 2023
Just about everyone in the Kansas City Chiefs locker room has moved past their latest Super Bowl triumph by this point, turning their focus toward the Detroit Lions in Thursday night’s NFL opener and the prospect of becoming the first repeat NFL champions in nearly two decades.
—Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 7 Sep. 2023
After being accepted to the University of Chicago Law School, Gad found herself before a Hennepin County judge due to mandatory minimum sentencing for repeat drug offenders.
—Catherine Garcia, The Week, 17 Aug. 2023
Verb
Netflix would surely like to avoid repeating that history when its user growth stalls again.
—Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2024
To support their beloved neighborhood — and with history once again repeating itself — residents take matters into their own hands to support those in need.
—Morgan Fischer, The Arizona Republic, 22 Apr. 2024
If the stain remains, repeat the process until the stain is gone.
—Audrey Noble, Vogue, 22 Apr. 2024
With pure angel numbers like 000, 111, or 222, look to the meaning of the digit that is repeated.
—Meg Walters, Glamour, 22 Apr. 2024
As the saying goes, history likes to repeat itself, and immersing oneself in previous epochs and learning from the past carries significant weight for current and future generations.
—Tyler Shepherd, USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2024
Jasmine immediately took the girl to the hospital, where the child gave doctors the same account and then repeated it again to the police, according to court documents.
—Maria Cramer, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2024
Neither has dented Israel’s war effort, even if the Houthis repeated attacks off the coast of Yemen have succeeded in disrupting global shipping.
—Afshon Ostovar, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2024
Meyer, who had a preference for using concrete, specialized in designing large-scale buildings with symmetry and repeating patterns, the technical report states.
—Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Apr. 2024
Noun
Among the repeat priorities is Assembly Bill 4, authored by Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno.
—Mathew Miranda, Sacramento Bee, 24 Apr. 2024
After failing to even be nominated in previous years, Cher, Peter Frampton, Foreigner, Ozzy Osbourne and Kool & The Gang will all be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s class of 2024, alongside repeat nominees Mary J. Blige, Dave Matthews Band and hip-hop innovators A Tribe Called Quest.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Apr. 2024
The show, which just received multiple Daytime Emmy nominations, is set to air repeats through Friday, with the production's accompanying Behind the Table podcast also going dark for that period.
—EW.com, 22 Apr. 2024
Their journey to make a repeat appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals — and potentially win it all for the first time in the franchise’s 30-year history — begins at 12:30 p.m. Sunday at Amerant Bank Arena with Game 1 of their best-of-7 series against the in-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2024
With the emergence of generative AI, however, fraudsters may be able to outsmart the tools put in place to keep them at bay, solving problems like trap questions and eliminating giveaways like repeat answers and gibberish.
—Kaleigh Rogers, ABC News, 19 Apr. 2024
Before Prop 47, a second conviction would become a felony, but the 2014 initiative eliminated consequences for repeat offenses.
—John Woolfolk, The Mercury News, 18 Apr. 2024
Nye and Batey did not respond to the Statesman, and neither did Dan Estes, spokesperson for the attorney general’s office, despite repeat requests over a month.
—Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 17 Apr. 2024
And Spain’s La Liga hasn’t had a repeat winner in five years.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Adjective
In a bid to impose heavier penalties on repeat criminal offenders, top Southern California law enforcement officials announced a new initiative Wednesday to target and try more suspects under federal guidelines.
—Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
That’s because Hardman’s counterpart at CVS, Ben Dugan, had connected a group of repeat shoplifters at the chain to the pawnshop.
—Jeannette Neumann, Fortune, 20 Mar. 2024
The authors of the report wrote that patients with persistent false-positive results and a history of autoimmune disease with rheumatoid factor may benefit from repeat COVID testing with a different brand of rapid antigen test.
—Alyssa Hui, Verywell Health, 1 Mar. 2024
This can be achieved by keeping violent offenders incarcerated and preventing bail for repeat violent offenders.
—Steve Hershey, Baltimore Sun, 22 Jan. 2024
The news comes as the organization warns of the yet unknown dangers of repeat COVID infection, which can occur without symptoms.
—Erin Prater, Fortune Well, 12 Jan. 2024
On the left, progressives managed to persuade centrist Democrats that Clinton-era tough-on-crime policies, such as lengthy prison terms for drug crimes and mandatory life sentences for repeat violent offenders, had done more harm than good.
—Neil Gross, The Atlantic, 22 Dec. 2023
Just about everyone in the Kansas City Chiefs locker room has moved past their latest Super Bowl triumph by this point, turning their focus toward the Detroit Lions in Thursday night’s NFL opener and the prospect of becoming the first repeat NFL champions in nearly two decades.
—Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 7 Sep. 2023
After being accepted to the University of Chicago Law School, Gad found herself before a Hennepin County judge due to mandatory minimum sentencing for repeat drug offenders.
—Catherine Garcia, The Week, 17 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'repeat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near repeat
Cite this Entry
“Repeat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/repeat. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
repeat
1 of 2 verb
re·peat
ri-ˈpēt 
1
a
: to say or state again
repeated the question
b
: to say from memory : recite
repeat a poem
c
: to say after another
repeat the following words after me
2
: to make, do, or perform again
repeat a mistake
3
: to present (oneself) again in the same words or way
hate repeating myself
1
: the act of repeating
2
: something repeated
3
a
: a musical passage to be repeated in performance
b
: a sign that consists of two dots one above the other and that is placed before and after a musical passage to be repeated
4
: a repetition of a radio or television program
Medical Definition
repeat
noun
re·peat
ri-ˈpēt, ˈrē-ˌ
: genetic duplication in which the duplicated parts are adjacent to each other along the chromosome
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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