Definition of repeat in English:

1reporting verb Say again something one has already said.

1. 1.1Say again (something said or written by someone else)
   ‘he repeated the words after me’
   with clause ‘she repeated what I'd said’
   More example sentences

   • ‘We can take that small gift, and rather than give in to the emptiness, the ever-echo that merely repeats us back to us - we can sing through it, and listen for something else.’
   • ‘Similarly, Lee repeats Carter's greeting to his black buddies and creates many funny situations.’
   • ‘He also repeated Judge Woolsey's famous remark about Ulysses being ‘emetic rather than erotic’ though he did not refer the court to his source.’
   • ‘And to overcome him is to repeat him, with a difference.’
   • ‘The men continue to repeat Billy's blessing, but the Captain is not moved.’
   • ‘I may be repeating what Armin wrote, but I'll say it anyway.’
   • ‘I'll repeat here what I wrote as part of a much longer post on my blog.’
   • ‘I won't repeat what's been written extensively on how to store paper archives.’
   • ‘In his only reported speech in ‘The Grand Inquisitor,’ Christ repeats his own canonical words ‘Talitha cumi!’’
   • ‘It's a film with a few biblical themes in it, either from the quick glances of Jesus, Joseph and Mary, or from the words that Ben-Hur repeats to Arrius or other figures.’
   • ‘His point has been repeated, almost word for word, by US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.’
   • ‘Without repeating too much of what I wrote there seven years ago, I want to add some highlights that I only alluded to or didn't have the space to discuss in that essay.’
   • ‘I like the repeated joke - a situation that is repeated so often that people laugh a lot when it first happens; laugh again because they recognise it.’
   • ‘In other words, the CIA's educated guess, endlessly repeated in the media, appears to have been mistaken.’
   • ‘What struck me immediately, and throughout the short journey, was that the two ladies' command of the English language was restricted to only two words ‘No car’ which they kept repeating over and over.’
   • ‘By repeating the real Sherman's original words, the text implies that the caller is in fact Sherman.’
   • ‘The word ‘ONE’ is repeated twice on the inside of the front cover, very boldly but without further colour.’
   • ‘Bailey said he had merely repeated what people were saying he had done.’
   • ‘But he admitted they were words that could not be repeated in a family newspaper.’
   • ‘And more often than not, people just repeat what they heard.’
   Synonyms

   say again, restate, reiterate, go through again, go over again, run through again, iterate, rehearse, recapitulate

   recite, quote, reproduce

   View synonyms
2. 1.2repeat oneselfSay or do the same thing again.
   ‘she was fretful and kept repeating herself’
   More example sentences

   • ‘This way, it took me three years to finalise the script,’ informs the film - maker, who asserts that he never repeats himself.’
   • ‘He repeats himself, something broadcasters of his calibre rarely do.’
   • ‘Mountstuart also contradicts and repeats himself, as diarists tend to do.’
   • ‘He is not predictable, he seldom repeats himself, but he constantly surprises.’
   • ‘The third stanza (if you could call it that) seems to be winding down, as Smith repeats herself, and then repeats herself again - the effect is like a slowing nervous twitch.’
   • ‘A fine example of this is singer Madonna, who never repeats herself and keeps the interest of the audience alive.’
   • ‘Nature never repeats herself, and the possibilities of one human soul will never be found in another.’
   • ‘Then all of a sudden, you feel as if you're repeating yourself or it's just not fun anymore.’
   • ‘If you blog for long enough, you're bound to start to repeating yourself sooner or later, right?’
   • ‘What happens with writers is they start repeating themselves, and they have less experience, they stay home all the time.’
   • ‘Of course, that also means that they're in constant danger of repeating themselves.’
   • ‘How long can we keep treading cultural water before we start repeating ourselves?’
   • ‘But are there enough resources to play quality Kannada music without repeating oneself too much?’
   • ‘One may think that becoming forgetful or repeating oneself is a natural part of growing older.’
   • ‘And I'll keep repeating myself until people realise that fee setting affects every single student at Victoria, and every single student at every tertiary institution.’
   • ‘If I'm repeating myself, I haven't noticed it yet.’
   • ‘I always try to change it because you're playing those songs to the same people each tour and you don't want to just repeat yourself.’
   • ‘It's funny that music is one of the only artforms where you're constantly required to repeat yourself.’
   • ‘‘We always aim to have a fresh programme, not to repeat ourselves,’ says Taylor.’
   Synonyms

   talk constantly, talk endlessly, talk repeatedly, keep talking, go on, go on talking, go on and on, dwell on the subject, refer to repeatedly, repeat oneself, ramble on, rant on

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3. 1.3Used for emphasis.
   ‘force was not—repeat, not—to be used’

2with object Do (something) again, either once or a number of times.

1. 2.1Broadcast (a television or radio program) again.
   ‘the thirteen episodes from the first two series were constantly repeated’
   More example sentences

   • ‘Members of the audience asked whether the TV series, The Dancer's Body, would be repeated.’
   • ‘If I have any other complaints, it's this: after issuing a stellar box set the previous October, why repeat one of the episodes from that set here?’
   Synonyms

   rebroadcast, rerun, reshow, replay

   View synonyms
2. 2.2Undertake (a course or period of instruction) again.
   ‘Mark had to repeat first and second grades’
   More example sentences

   • ‘I missed 2 weeks of school and almost had to repeat second grade.’
   • ‘Young children often repeat grades because teachers or parents feel they have not acquired the appropriate academic or social skills to advance to the next grade.’
   • ‘I was in the classroom with Merce for over ten years and not once did he repeat a class.’
   • ‘She knew that she could press ahead - and try to pass a retest in a month or two - but faculty members encouraged her to think about repeating her second-year coursework instead.’
3. 2.3repeat itselfOccur again in the same way or form.
   ‘I don't intend to let history repeat itself’
   More example sentences

   • ‘While we do not necessarily expect history to repeat itself, a dollar rally may still take longer to materialise than many now seem to expect.’
   • ‘Our linguistic history is repeating itself in this latest verbal revolution.’
   Synonyms

   reoccur, occur again, happen again, recur, reappear

   View synonyms
4. 2.4US no object Illegally vote more than once in an election.
5. 2.5North American no object Attain a particular success or achievement again, especially by winning a championship for the second consecutive time.
   ‘the first team in nineteen years to repeat as NBA champions’
   More example sentences

   • ‘Stu Ungar, who repeated as champion that year, was a coke-addled enfant terrible whose wavelength happened to be out of phase with that of the London man of letters.’
6. 2.6with object (of a watch or clock) strike (the last hour or quarter) over again when required.
   ‘a watch repeater that repeats hours and quarters’

3British no object (of food) be tasted intermittently for some time after being swallowed as a result of belching or indigestion.

1An action, event, or other thing that occurs or is done again.

1. 1.1A repeated broadcast of a television or radio program.
   ‘she goes home alone to TV dinners and repeats of “I Love Lucy”’
   More example sentences

   • ‘By the way, if you missed the show, you can catch the repeat on Radio 4 at 5pm on Sunday, 27 April.’
   • ‘Presuming for a second that no one has ever watched repeats of the television show on Nick at Nite, the premise is that the central female character is a real-life honest to goodness witch, whose family are the only ones aware of her secret.’
   • ‘We'd do a film together if somebody came up with an idea that wasn't a remake or a repeat or a sequel.’
   • ‘The Radio Times tells me there are no repeats of the show.’
   • ‘The sound quality, you'll find, is definitely far improved over the muffled and muddied tracks that accompany syndicated repeats.’
   • ‘The TNT people who botched this opportunity to create quality television are sentenced to watch endless repeats of Cletus Done Got His Hand Mangled In The Cotton Gin Agin, or whatever the hell they show on that network now.’
   • ‘It's the beautiful part about going back and watching the repeats of my favorite show on television at the current moment.’
   • ‘One CBS study found that the overall audience for the four major networks drops 10 percent to 15 percent between periods of original programming and the repeats that dominate non-sweeps months.’
   • ‘Frankly, I didn't think the show would hold up well for me in repeats.’
   • ‘Digital TV is here to stay without a doubt but, to be honest, I often find myself watching repeats of old favourites as much as anything.’
   • ‘The curious may want to rent this first or check out the endless repeats on cable.’
   • ‘As with most movies of this genre, the cautionary example about man himself being more deadly that the undead denizens of destruction around him gets a tired repeat here.’
   • ‘But I feel like I've seen all the good shows anyway, virtually everything is repeats, either actually or conceptually, and I often have trouble focussing enough to watch most shows.’
   • ‘It's a show that the BBC have never shown a huge amount of faith in - even now, the repeats (when they come around) get played on BBC2.’
   • ‘If ever a show deserved to get a repeat on terrestrial TV, this is it.’
   • ‘Is it new episodes or are they just showing the repeats?’
   • ‘I must have seen it either on video or as a repeat, but I was pretty blown away by it because there was just nothing like that on the telly.’
   • ‘At the moment, I am watching the repeats of ‘Bob and Rose’ on ITV2 on Sunday nights, because I didn't catch it the first time round.’
   • ‘Turned out they started the repeats on Saturday so yesterday was episodes 3-4.’
   • ‘I must have seen that repeated on at least six international TV stations - over and over.’
   Synonyms

   rerun, replay, rebroadcast, reshowing

   View synonyms
2. 1.2as modifier Occurring, done, or used more than once.
   ‘a repeat prescription’
   More example sentences

   • ‘However, they can also suffer from static displays which, having been viewed once, discourage repeat visits.’
   • ‘Although some traders practiced fraud, others worked hard to acquire reputations for fair business practices in order to encourage repeat sales.’
   • ‘This is a true crime for which they are repeat offenders.’
   • ‘The sculptures in the Medici Palace repeat features of the Athenian sculpture reflected in works of art and described in the literary sources.’
   • ‘Ridge also reinstated the death penalty in Pennsylvania and instigated ‘three strikes and out’ legislation against repeat offenders.’
   • ‘Now, Hollywood's been known to dredge up old storylines again and again, and occasionally mine repeat gold out of a recycled chestnut.’
   • ‘Some prizes will be up for bid only during narrow time windows, in order to draw repeat traffic throughout the peak summer selling season.’
   • ‘Several of the repeat offenders say they ‘couldn't cope’ on the outside, while one says she'll only reoffend if she doesn't like it back in society.’
   • ‘But seeing everything at once becomes tiresome, and I should think that the style does not attract much repeat business in either case.’
   • ‘All three films are intelligent thrillers, with enough subtext to support repeat viewings, but they are still visceral thrills at their core, not films about something.’
   • ‘The reason why I want others to contribute is that I haven't fully come to terms with what it is about, but I'm sure it pays repeat viewings.’
   • ‘Still, yeah, the show is designed for repeat viewings, and there are dozens of running jokes that casual viewers won't get.’
   • ‘The company is chock-full of well known brands, enjoys steady, repeat custom, is making good financial progress and trades on a very reasonable valuation.’
   • ‘Although going beyond the obvious can make a film worthy of dissection and repeat viewings, failure to address the subject matter in a direct way can have the opposite effect.’
   • ‘Making something that will run for hundreds of episodes, that can withstand many repeat viewings by all sorts of people, that doesn't just plunder the zeitgeist, is quite another.’
   • ‘Noel says gallery sales are around $2 to $3 million annually, with about 40 percent of that figure being repeat customers.’
   • ‘It's an accomplished and intriguing set that never dulls the enthusiasm on repeat hearing, each new listening opens up a hitherto missed experience.’
   • ‘You might say that, with the substantial exception of repeat buildings or structures, to make a building is to undertake a piece of research, using that word colloquially.’
   • ‘Kelley says repeat business at his gallery locations is about 60 percent and that his annual gallery sales are more than $1 million.’
   • ‘And, like the best composers, he's created shifting songs that reveal new meaning with repeat listens.’
3. 1.3A consignment of goods similar to one already received.
4. 1.4A decorative pattern which is repeated uniformly over a surface.
   as modifier ‘rugs with simple repeat patterns’
   More example sentences

   • ‘In subdued colours they comprise practically endless pattern repeats.’
   • ‘A repeat of the pattern after a pause would take commodity prices substantially higher.’
   • ‘His growing obsession with time and with adjusting all kinds of clocks from local Taipei to Paris time is amusing, but his actions are essentially repeats of a pattern, going in the same direction.’
5. 1.5Music A passage intended to be repeated.
   ‘The melody in the tenor part was also often repeated, but not always to synchronize with the rhythmic repeat.’
6. 1.6Music A mark indicating a passage intended to be repeated.
   ‘The term was commonly used in Baroque instrumental music, such as concertos, and regularly in minuet-and-trio structures, to indicate the repeat of the minuet.’
   ‘He gives us few tempo indications, but gives us repeats that we can arbitrarily take or not.’