repair Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the act of putting something in working order again
    reparation; fixing; fix; mending; fixture; mend.
  2. noun a formal way of referring to the condition of something
    • the building was in good repair
  3. noun a frequently visited place
    stamping ground; resort; hangout; haunt.
  4. verb restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken
    touch on; doctor; fix; furbish up; restore; mend; bushel.
    • She repaired her TV set
    • Repair my shoes please
  5. verb make amends for; pay compensation for
    compensate; indemnify; recompense.
    • One can never fully repair the suffering and losses of the Jews in the Third Reich
    • She was compensated for the loss of her arm in the accident
  6. verb move, travel, or proceed toward some place
    resort.
    • He repaired to his cabin in the woods
  7. verb set straight or right
    amend; remedy; remediate; rectify.
    • remedy these deficiencies
    • rectify the inequities in salaries
    • repair an oversight
  8. verb give new life or energy to
    revivify; recreate; reanimate; revive; renovate; vivify; animate; quicken.
    • A hot soup will revive me
    • This will renovate my spirits
    • This treatment repaired my health

WordNet

Re*pair" intransitive verb
Etymology
OE. repairen, OF. repairier to return, fr. L. repatriare to return to one's contry, to go home again; pref. re- re- + patria native country, fr. pater father. See Father, and cf. Repatriate.
Definitions
  1. To return. Obs.
    I thought . . . that he repaire should again. Chaucer.
  2. To go; to betake one's self; to resort; ass, to repair to sanctuary for safety. Chaucer.
    Go, mount the winds, and to the shades repair. Pope.
Re*pair" noun
Etymology
OF. repaire retreat, asylum, abode. See Repair to go.
Definitions
  1. The act of repairing or resorting to a place. R. Chaucer.
    The king sent a proclamation for their repair to their houses. Clarendon.
  2. Place to which one repairs; a haunt; a resort. R.
    There the fierce winds his tender force assail And beat him downward to his first repair. Dryden.
Re*pair" transitive verb
Etymology
F. réparer, L. reparare; pref. re- re- + parare to prepare. See Pare, and cf. Reparation.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Repaired present participle & verbal noun Repairing
Definitions
  1. To restore to a sound or good state after decay, injury, dilapidation, or partial destruction; to renew; to restore; to mend; as, to repair a house, a road, a shoe, or a ship; to repair a shattered fortune.
    Secret refreshings that repair his strength. Milton.
    Do thou, as thou art wont, repair My heart with gladness. Wordsworth.
  2. To make amends for, as for an injury, by an equivalent; to indemnify for; as, to repair a loss or damage.
    I 'll repair the misery thou dost bear. Shak.
    Syn. -- To restore, recover; renew; amend; mend; retrieve; recruit.
Re*pair" noun
Definitions
  1. Restoration to a sound or good state after decay, waste, injury, or partial restruction; supply of loss; reparation; as, materials are collected for the repair of a church or of a city.
    Sunk down and sought repair Of sleep, which instantly fell on me. Milton.
  2. Condition with respect to soundness, perfectness, etc.; as, a house in good, or bad, repair; the book is out of repair.

Webster 1913