/ əˈtəʊn; NAmE əˈtoʊn/ verb
[ v ] atone (for sth) ( formal ) to act in a way that shows you are sorry for doing sth wrong in the past
SYN make amends :
to atone for a crime
► atone·ment noun [ U ]:
to make atonement for his sins
Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English (originally in the sense make or become united or reconciled , rare before the 16th cent.): from at one in early use; later by back-formation from atonement .