repeat
gb/ɹɪpˈit/ us/ɹɪpˈit/
A2
English
~ 1500
Senses
0 senses
Verb
A2
action
1
Say or do again
To say or do something one more time.
Usage pattern:
to repeat [something]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'repeat' with 'replay' when talking about media. 'Replay' is for playing a recording again, 'repeat' is for saying or doing again in general.
Synonyms
reiterate (More formal; often used for emphasizing a statement.)
Antonyms
stop (Means to cease doing something rather than doing it again.)
Collocations
repeat a question
|repeat an action
|repeat a word
|repeat instructions
Themes
daily life
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Could you repeat the last sentence, please?
- She repeated the experiment to check the results.
- He repeated his request until someone listened.
- I had to repeat the test because of a mistake.
- The teacher asked him to repeat the answer more clearly.
Learner examples
- Please repeat your name.
- He repeated the question.
- I will repeat the words.
- Can you repeat that?
- The boy repeats the game.
Verb
B1
action
2
Happen again
To happen again.
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse this with 'resume', which means to start again after stopping, not necessarily to happen again naturally.
Synonyms
recur (More formal; often used for regular or predictable events.)
Antonyms
cease (Means to stop happening.)
Collocations
history repeats itself
|pattern repeats
|event repeats
Themes
daily life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The same problem keeps repeating every month.
- History often repeats itself.
- These mistakes should not repeat in the future.
- The cycle will repeat until changes are made.
Learner examples
- The problem repeats every day.
- The event repeats each year.
- Mistakes repeat if we do not learn.
- The game repeats after you win.
Noun
B1
event
3
Event shown again
A TV or radio show that is played again.
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse 'repeat' with 'recording'; a recording is a saved copy, a repeat is a re-broadcast.
Synonyms
rerun (Common in American English for TV shows.)
Antonyms
premiere (Refers to the first showing of a program or performance.)
Collocations
watch a repeat
|TV repeat
|old repeat
Themes
media
|communication
|arts_entertainment
Examples
- They're showing a repeat of last week's episode tonight.
- I caught the repeat of the match on Sunday.
- The channel often broadcasts repeats during the summer.
Learner examples
- I watched a repeat of the show.
- The repeat was on Sunday.
- They play repeats in the morning.
Noun
B2
entity
4
Exact copy of action/words
Something done or said the same way as before.
Synonyms
duplication (More formal; often used in technical contexts.)
Antonyms
original (Refers to something new, not copied.)
Collocations
an exact repeat
|a near repeat
Themes
daily life
|core_vocabulary
|communication
Examples
- This year's performance was almost a repeat of last year's.
- His joke was just a repeat from yesterday.
- It was a repeat of their earlier mistake.
Learner examples
- The game was a repeat of last week.
- The speech was a repeat from before.
- It was a repeat of the same error.
Grammar
Dictionary form
repeat
IPA
GB/ɹɪpˈit/
US/ɹɪpˈit/
Syllables & stress
re - peat (2 syllables)
Stress on 2nd syllable (peat)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: repeat
- Plural: repeats
Verb
- Base: repeat
- 3rd Person Singular: repeats
- Present Participle: repeating
- Past: repeated
Word family
Forms
repeats
noun
repeating
verb
repeated
verb
Core family
Related words
repeatable
adjective
Negative and opposite forms
unrepeatable
adjective
Advanced or less common
repetitious
adjective
repetitively
adverb
Expressions
on repeat
1/ˈɔn ɹɪpˈit/
fixed phrase
informal
Played over and over again
Played many times without stopping.
Examples
- That song has been on repeat all day.
- I keep this movie on repeat when I’m sick.
repeat after me
1/ɹɪpˈit ˈæftɚ mˈi/
fixed phrase
Copy spoken words immediately
Say the same words that I say, right after me.
Examples
- Repeat after me: 'I will study every day.'
- In class, the teacher said, 'Repeat after me.'
history repeats itself
1/hˈɪstɚi ɹɪpˈits ɪtsˈɛlf/
idiom
Past events happen again
Things that happened before often happen again in a similar way.
Examples
- They say history repeats itself when people make the same mistakes as in the past.
- Wars show that history repeats itself.
history repeats itself
2/hˈɪstɚi ɹɪpˈits ɪtsˈɛlf/
idiom
Similar events recur over time
The same kinds of events happen again and again over time.
Examples
- Some say history repeats itself in politics.
- History repeats itself when lessons are not learned.