repair

present singular third person repairs · participle present repairing · participle past repaired · past repaired · first person past singular repaired · archaic present second person singular repairest · past second person singular repaired · archaic past second person singular repairedst · present singular third person repairs · archaic present singular third person repaireth · past singular third person repaired · past plural repaired · past subjunctive repaired · participle present repairing · participle past repaired

1. ambitransitiveTo restore to good working order, fix, or improve damaged condition; to mend; to remedy.

   to repair a shattered fortune

   3 more examples

   to repair a house, a road, a shoe, a ship

   Secret refreſhings, that repair his ſtrength,

   1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 44

   Do thou, as thou art wont, repair / My heart with gladness,

   1807, William Wordsworth, “To the Daisy”, in Poems, in Two Volumes, volume II, London: […] Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, […], →OCLC, page 96

2. ambitransitiveTo make amends for, as for an injury, by an equivalent; to indemnify for.

   to repair a loss or damage

   2 more examples

   How can I repair this wrong?

   I'll repair the misery thou dost bear.

   c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]

plural repairs

1. ambitransitivecountableuncountableThe act of repairing something.

   I took the car to the workshop for repair.

   1 more example

   One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains.[…]But out of sight is out of mind. And that[…]means that many old sewers have been neglected and are in dire need of repair.

   2014 June 14, “It's a gas”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8891

   1. ambitransitivecountableuncountablecommunicationAn act of correcting ("repairing") a mistake in communication.

      The ability to participate in conversational repair sequences constitutes an integral part of the language acquisition process (Gallagher, 1977; Garvey, 1975).

      2002 April 28, Tova Most, “The Use of Repair Strategies by Children With and Without Hearing Impairment”, in Speech & Hearing Services in Schools, volume 33, number 2, →DOI, →ISSN, page 112

      2 more examples

      To function in conversation, children must develop the ability to appreciate and respond to listener feedback. This developing awareness is evident in sequences during which children provide repairs in response to indications that a message has not been understood.

      1986 March 28, Bonnie Brinton, Martin Fujiki, Diane Frome Loeb, and Erika Winkler, “Development of Conversational Repair Strategies in Response to Requests for Clarification”, in Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, volume 29, number 1, →DOI, →ISSN, page 75

      [...] Salmenlinna and Laakso (2020) studied mother–child conversations using a conversation analysis approach and found that children’s repair requests often occurred in situations where expanding the topic was blocked. Similarly, Yoder et al. (1994) found that repair requests from adults who were attuned to the topic at hand were more likely to trigger repair from children.

      2024 January 28, Xiaoyan Li, Yonghan Peng, Xinjun Zheng, “The Association Between Mother’s Descriptive Language and Children with Autism’s Conversational Repair: A Moderated Mediation Analysis”, in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, volume 54, number 1, →DOI, →ISSN, page 226

2. ambitransitivecountableuncountableThe result of repairing something.

   If you look closely you can see the repair in the paintwork.

3. ambitransitivecountableuncountableThe condition of something, in respect of need for repair.

   The car was overall in poor repair before the accident. But after the workshop had it for three weeks it was returned in excellent repair. But the other vehicle was beyond repair.

   2 more examples

   The 1300 class (Nos. 1301-16), one of which was damaged beyond repair in an accident, are Co-Cos, weigh 111 tons and have a top speed of 85 m.p.h.

   1962 March, J. M. Tolson, “The Netherlands Railways today—I”, in Modern Railways, page 172

   Thirteen houses were damaged beyond repair, and much of the rest of the town suffered broken windows and lost slates.

   2020 January 12, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948, page 43

plural repairs

1. ambitransitiveThe act of repairing or resorting to a place.

   our annual repair to the mountains

   1 more example

   The king sent a proclamation for their repair to their houses.

   1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, (please specify |book=I to XVI), in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the [Sheldonian] Theater

2. ambitransitiveA place to which one goes frequently or habitually; a haunt.

   There the fierce winds his tender force assail / And beat him downward to his first repair.

   1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders, 1666. […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC, (please specify the stanza number)

present singular third person repairs · participle present repairing · participle past repaired · past repaired

1. ambitransitiveTo transfer oneself to another place.

   to repair to sanctuary for safety

   5 more examples

   Go, mount the winds, and to the shades repair.

   c. 1699 – 1703, Alexander Pope, “The First Book of Statius His Thebais”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintot, […], published 1717, →OCLC

   At the hour of half-past five we repaired to our engagement.

   1828, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter XVI, in Pelham; or, The Adventures of a Gentleman. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 111

   At a late hour, after I had been in bed some time, I heard the visitors repair to their chambers:

   1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter IV, in Jane Eyre. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 109

   That finished, I repaired to my room, one flight up, and, after a thorough wash, seated myself, pipe in mouth, at the little window that opened on the Rue Garde.

   1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter IV, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 47

   [...] the train engine uncouples and either backs on to the up through line to await its next duty or repairs to the motive power depot.

   1960 April, B. Perren, “Resorts for Railfans -30: Bournemouth”, in Trains Illustrated, page 239

present singular third person repairs · participle present repairing · participle past repaired · past repaired · alternative re-pair

1. ambitransitiveTo pair again.

   Please try to repair the two earbuds to each other. Place both earbuds back into the charging case, wait for four seconds, then open it and see if they have been repaired with one another.