Meanings
repetition1
plural repetitions
- countableuncountableThe act or an instance of repeating or being repeated.
The Lectures were a novelty in German philosophy, dominated as it was by the categories of Kant and Hegel, but to the rest of Europe they were merely a repetition of well-known theories.
1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume I: The Founders, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: powstanie (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 1182 more examples
How we hope and believe each day will be our last of anxious waiting! The post comes in, and there is no letter for us. How bitter is the disappointment! and on every repetition it grows more acute.
1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The End of Doubt”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 288Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations. It is easily earned repetition to state that Josephine St. Auban's was a presence not to be concealed.
1910, Emerson Hough, chapter II, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLCSynonyms: recurrence
repetition2
present singular third person repetitions · participle present repetitioning · participle past repetitioned · past repetitioned · alternative re-petition
- To petition again.
The group went through several rounds at different courts, petitioning and repetitioning, losing again and again.
2011, Anneke Campbell, Thomas Lizney, Be the Change, page 7
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe act or an instance of repeating or being repeated.
nounThe act of performing a single, controlled exercise motion. A group of repetitions is a set.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
repetition · noun
- Latinrepetitionem
- Englishrepetition
Borrowed from Latin repetitionem (accusative singular of repetitio; cf. French répétition). Doublet of repetitio. By surface analysis, repeat + -ition.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →repetition · verb
- Proto-Italic*wre-
- Latinre-
- Old Frenchre-
- Middle Englishre-
- Englishre-
- Proto-Indo-European*peth₂-
- Proto-Indo-European*péth₂eti
- Latinpetō
- Latinpetītiōnem
- Old Frenchpeticiun
- Englishpetition
- Englishrepetition
Translations
Ancient Greek ἐπανάληψις, διλογία
- ἐπανάληψις (epanálēpsis)act or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- διλογία (dilogía)act or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Arabic تَكْرَار, إِعَادَة
- تَكْرَار (takrār)act or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- إِعَادَة (ʔiʕāda)act or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Bulgarian повторе́ние, науча́ване наизу́ст
- повторе́ние (povtorénie)act or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- науча́ване наизу́ст (naučávane naizúst)act of repeating an exercise motion
Catalan repetició, repetició
- repeticióact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- repeticióact of repeating an exercise motion
Chinese Mandarin 重複 /重复
- 重複 /重复 (chóngfù)act or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Czech opakování
- opakováníact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Danish gentagelse
- gentagelseact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Dutch herhaling
- herhalingact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Estonian kordamine
- kordamineact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Finnish kertaus, toisto
- kertausact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- toistoact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- toistoact of repeating an exercise motion
French répétition
- répétitionact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
German Wiederholung, Repetition
- Wiederholungact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- Repetitionact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Greek επανάληψη, απαντώ
- επανάληψη (epanálipsi)act or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- απαντώ (apantó)act or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Hebrew חֲזָרָה
- חֲזָרָה (khazará)act or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Hungarian ismétlés, ismétlődés
- ismétlésact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- ismétlődésact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Irish athdhéanamh, athrá
- athdhéanamhact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- athráact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- athsheinmact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- atarlú (reoccurrence)act or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Italian ripetizione
- ripetizioneact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Japanese 繰り返し, 反復
- 繰り返し (kurikaeshi)act or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- 反復 (hanpuku)act or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Korean 되풀이, 반복
- 되풀이 (doepuri)act or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- 반복 (banbok)act or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Latin repetītiō, iterātiō
- repetītiōact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- iterātiōact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Latvian atkārtojums
- atkārtojumsact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Lithuanian kartojimas
- kartojimasact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Māori tāruaruatanga
- tāruaruatangaact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Norwegian Bokmål gjentakelse
- gjentakelseact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Persian تکرار
- تکرار (takrâr)act or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Polish powtórzenie, repetycja
- powtórzenieact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- repetycjaact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- powtórkaact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- repetycjaact of repeating an exercise motion
- powtórkaact of repeating an exercise motion
Portuguese repetição
- repetiçãoact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Romanian repetare, repetiție
- repetareact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- repetițieact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- repetareact of repeating an exercise motion
Russian повторе́ние, повторе́ние
- повторе́ние (povtorénije)act or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- повторе́ние (povtorénije)act of repeating an exercise motion
- зау́чивание наизу́сть (zaúčivanije naizústʹ)act of repeating an exercise motion
Slovak opakovanie
- opakovanieact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Spanish repetición
- repeticiónact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Swedish repetition, upprepning
- repetitionact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- upprepningact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Tagalog again
- againact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Turkish tekrarlama, tekrar
- tekrarlamaact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- tekraract or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Ukrainian повто́рення
- повто́рення (povtórennja)act or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Welsh ail-wneud, ailadroddiad
- ail-wneudact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- ailadroddiadact or an instance of repeating or being repeated
- dychweliad (reoccurrence)act or an instance of repeating or being repeated
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
repetition. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/repetition
“repetition.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/repetition. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “repetition,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/repetition.
Source: repetition on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.