INDEX:
1. to do something again
2. to say something again
3. to repeat what someone else has said
4. to repeat the important parts of something
5. to keep saying the same thing in an annoying way
6. ways of asking someone to repeat something
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ AGAIN
↑ SAY
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1. to do something again
▷ repeat /rɪˈpiːt/ [transitive verb]
to do something again or do something many times :
▪ Holmes repeated the experiment several times and got the same results.
▪ Repeat this exercise ten times every day and you’ll soon have a flatter stomach.
▪ After the students have finished, have them exchange roles and repeat the procedure.
repetition /ˌrepɪˈtɪʃ ə n, ˌrepəˈtɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
▪ Through constant repetition, he was starting to show some improvement in his skills.
repeat of
▪ Repetition of movements is an important part of African dance.
▷ do something again also do something over American /duː something əˈgen, duː something ˈəʊvəʳ/ [verb phrase]
to do something again, for example in order to practise it or because it was not done well enough the first time :
▪ I’d like you to do this exercise again.
▪ I’m afraid you’ll have to do it over in pen.
▪ She spilled coffee on the application form and had to do it all again.
do something again and again/do something over and over
▪ The coach made us do it again and again till we got it right.
▷ redo /riːˈduː/ [transitive verb]
to do something again because it was not done well enough the first time :
▪ I can’t read a word of this - you’ll have to redo it.
▪ They don’t have the money to redo the plumbing right now.
▷ retake /ˌriːˈteɪk/ [transitive verb]
to do a written examination or other kind of test again because you have failed it :
▪ Julie’s had to retake her driving test at least three times.
▪ He decided to retake the course and try to get a higher grade.
retake /ˈriːteɪk/ [countable noun] British :
▪ The exam is in June. Retakes will be held in September.
2. to say something again
▷ repeat /rɪˈpiːt/ [transitive verb]
to say something again, for example because someone did not hear you or understand you :
▪ ‘I just can’t believe it,’ he repeated.
▪ Could you repeat the question? I wasn’t listening.
▪ The kidnappers have repeated their demand for ransom.
repeat (that)
▪ She repeated that there was no need for alarm.
something is worth repeating/something bears repeating
▪ The news is hardly worth repeating.
▷ say something again /ˌseɪ something əˈgen/ [verb phrase] especially spoken
to say something again, either because someone did not hear you or because you want to emphasize it :
▪ I’m sorry - could you say that again
▪ I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’ve never trusted that man.
▪ ‘It’s OK. You’re safe now,’ she said again and again.
say again (that)
▪ Let me say again that the government has no intention of raising taxes.
▷ reiterate /riːˈɪtəreɪt/ [transitive verb] formal
to repeat an opinion or statement in order to make your meaning very clear :
▪ The President reiterated his support for the treaty.
reiterate (that)
▪ Earlier in the day, Jones reiterated that he had no intention of firing Swenson.
▷ repeat yourself /rɪˈpiːt jɔːʳself/ [verb phrase]
to unintentionally repeat something you have already said :
▪ Have I told you this before? Please stop me if I’m repeating myself.
▪ Elmer seems pretty alert, but if you spend much time with him he starts to repeat himself.
▷ repetition /ˌrepɪˈtɪʃ ə n, ˌrepəˈtɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
when you repeat something several times :
▪ Repetition is good for helping children learn language.
repetition of
▪ He builds his speeches around the repetition of certain key phrases.
3. to repeat what someone else has said
▷ repeat /rɪˈpiːt/ [transitive verb]
▪ Why do you have to repeat everything I say?
▪ ‘He’s planning to move,’ she said, repeating what Bobby had told her.
repeat something to yourself
repeat something, usually silently
▪ Henry kept repeating her phone number to himself so he wouldn’t forget it.
repeat after me
▪ Repeat after me: ‘I’m not going to waste any more money on lottery tickets.’
▷ quote /kwəʊt/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to repeat exactly something that someone else has said or written, especially someone famous :
▪ He was always quoting clever sayings from Oscar Wilde’s plays.
quote from
▪ To quote from the report: ‘6000 children die each day from curable diseases.’
don’t quote me on it/that
say this when you are not completely sure of the facts you are stating
▪ I don’t think the company is doing very well, but don’t quote me on that.
▷ quotation /kwəʊˈteɪʃ ə n/ [countable noun]
a sentence or phrase from a book, poem etc, that you repeat because it is interesting or funny, or because it supports what you are saying :
▪ I couldn’t remember where I’d heard the quotation before.
quotation from
▪ Spencer began his speech with a quotation from Karl Marx.
4. to repeat the important parts of something
▷ go over /ˌgəʊ ˈəʊvəʳ/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to repeat the important parts of a speech or explanation so that people can understand it better :
▪ OK, I’ll go over the plan one more time, but pay attention this time.
▪ Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything - she’ll go over the main points again at the end.
▷ recap also recapitulate formal /riːˈkæp, ˌriːkəˈpɪtʃleɪt/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to repeat the important parts of what has been said or done before in order to remind people :
▪ At this point, I’d like to take a few moments to recap.
▪ Before we start the discussion we should first recapitulate a little of last week’s lecture.
recap on
British
▪ She paused to recap on the story so far.
5. to keep saying the same thing in an annoying way
▷ keep saying/asking/telling etc /ˌkiːp ˈseɪ-ɪŋ/ [verb phrase]
▪ She kept saying how rich her father was.
▪ Don’t keep telling me what to do - I know how to bake a cake.
▪ The kids keep asking what time it is.
▷ go on about /gəʊ ˈɒn əbaʊt something/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to keep talking about something in an annoying way :
▪ She was going on about what a genius her brother is.
go on and on about something
▪ I don’t think I can stand another evening of Ted going on and on about his health problems.
6. ways of asking someone to repeat something
▷ sorry?/pardon? also excuse me? American /ˈsɒri,ǁˈsɑːri, ˈpɑːʳdn, ɪkˈskjuːz miː/ spoken
say this when you want to ask someone politely to repeat what they just said because you did not hear it :
▪ ‘It’s hot today, isn’t it?’ ‘Pardon?’
▪ ‘Could you tell me what time it is?’ ‘Sorry?’
▪ ‘Damn,’ I muttered. ‘Excuse me?’ said the clerk.
▷ what?/what did you say? /wɒt, ˌwɒt dɪd juː ˈseɪ/ spoken informal
say this when you did not hear what someone said, or when you are surprised by what they said :
▪ ‘Are you going to the bar?’ ‘What? Oh, yes, I suppose so.’
▪ ‘Oh, shut up!’ ‘What did you say?’
▷ would you mind repeating that? also could you repeat that/the question etc? /ˌwʊd juː ˌmaɪnd rɪˈpiːtɪŋ ðæt, ˌkʊd juː rɪˈpiːt ðæt/
use this in formal situations to ask someone to repeat something :
▪ ‘My name’s Marsden.’ ‘Would you mind repeating that, please?’
▪ ‘How long have you been here?’ ‘I’m sorry, could you repeat that?’