/ɹɪˈpits/
Say it backRepeats is a plural noun or verb form meaning occurrences that happen again or actions done again. As a verb, it denotes performing something again; as a noun, it refers to multiple repetitions. The word emphasizes recurrence and is used across formal and informal contexts, often in discussion, instruction, or narrative about events or sequences.
"The teacher asks the student to repeats the process to ensure consistency."
"Her repeats of the experiment confirmed the results."
"The chorus repeats the phrase after the verse."
Pronounce as /rɪˈpeɪts/ (US/UK/AU share the same primary stress on the second syllable). Start with a short, lax 'ri' sound, then a stressed 'peɪts' with a long a sound like 'ape' and end with a voiceless 'ts'. Mouth: lips relaxed, tip of tongue near alveolar ridge for the 'r', then lips rounded lightly for /eɪ/ glide before the final alveolar stop + s. If you’re saying the noun, put emphasis on the first syllable: /ˈriːpɪts/ in some dialects; however, standard pronunciation keeps /ɪˈpeɪts/ with primary stress on the second syllable when used as a verb.
Common errors include misplacing stress (emphasizing the first syllable in the verb), mispronouncing /ɪ/ as a short or clipped vowel, and compressing the /eɪ/ diphthong into a short /e/ sound. To correct: practice /ɪˈpeɪts/ with a clear diphthong /eɪ/ in the second syllable and keep final /ts/ distinct; for nouns, ensure the first syllable carries weight with a slightly longer /i:/ or /i/ depending on accent. Use minimal pairs like repeats vs. re-PEATS vs. RE-peats to tune stress placement.
In US and UK, the verb /rɪˈpeɪts/ remains similar, with rhotics influencing the initial /r/ in American accents; the /ɪ/ in the first syllable can be slightly shorter in rapid speech. Australian speakers often have a more centralized or slightly reduced first vowel in fast speech, but still use /ɪˈpeɪts/ for the verb. The major difference lies in vowel quality around the diphthong /eɪ/ and the duration of the vowel before the final /ts/—US tends to a more clipped end, UK slightly longer, AU with mild vowel shifts before voiceless consonants.
The difficulty centers on the contrast between the unstressed first syllable and the strong, stressed second syllable, and the crisp /t s/ consonant cluster at the end. The /ɪ/ vowel in the first syllable is quick and reduced in many speech styles, while /eɪ/ involves a precise glide from /e/ to /ɪ/ with lips in a slight spread. Mastering the timing of the stress and ensuring the /t s/ is released as a clean affricate without an extra vowel makes it tricky.
Does 'repeats' ever reduce the second syllable when spoken quickly, making it sound like /riːpɪts/? In natural connected speech, some speakers may slightly elide the middle vowel or voice onset time on the /t/; however, the standard and most clear form remains /rɪˈpeɪts/ with a distinct /eɪ/ and /ts/ at the end. Focusing on maintaining the diphthong and final affricate is key to recognizability.
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Repeats comes from the verb phrase repeat, from Old French repeater, from late Latin repetere, meaning to seek again, recover, or retake. The Latin root repetere is composed of re- ‘again, back’ and petere ‘to seek, strive for, go toward.’ In Middle English and Early Modern English, repeat evolved to primarily mean to say or perform again, and the noun form repeating events or actions followed. By the 17th century, repeats commonly referred to multiple instances of something occurring again, especially in narrative or music where a section is played or sung again. The term broadened to both grammatical plural forms and noun phrases indicating multiple instances, while the verb form remains widely used in education, music, and performance contexts. This word retains the core sense of repetition across domains, with intensifying meaning when paired with modifiers (e.g., frequent repeats, repeated repeats). First known uses in English literature appear in the 14th–15th centuries, but the precise earliest citation is patchy across corpora; the semantic core—doing something again—has persisted through the evolution of language.
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Words that rhyme with "repeats"
-ats sounds
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