repatriate

verb

re·​pa·​tri·​ate (ˌ)rē-ˈpā-trē-ˌāt 

-ˈpa-

repatriated; repatriating

transitive verb

: to restore or return to the country of origin, allegiance, or citizenship

repatriate prisoners of war

repatriate

(ˌ)rē-ˈpā-trē-ət 

-trē-ˌāt

-ˈpa-

noun

Examples of repatriate in a Sentence

Countries are required to repatriate prisoners of war when conflict has ended.

Recent Examples on the Web

What if European savers, depicted by MAGA evangelists as rich and degenerate progressives, sold American assets and repatriated their savings? —David McWilliams, Time, 9 Apr. 2025

On Saturday, Venezuela’s special envoy for peace talks, Jorge Rodríguez Gómez, announced an agreement with the US to repatriate Venezuelans detained in the US back to Venezuela. —Merlin Delcid, CNN, 23 Mar. 2025

In some cases, the Met has arranged to retain items that authorities identified as looted, such as the Etruscan carvings, after negotiating a loan agreement with the country to which they were repatriated. —Graham Bowley, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2025

In response to the audit, UC President Dr. Michael Drake said the university system is committed to repatriating ancestral remains. —William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 16 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin repatriatus, past participle of repatriare to go home again — more at repair entry 3

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for repatriate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

Kids Definition

repatriate

1 of 2 verb

re·​pa·​tri·​ate

(ˈ)rē-ˈpā-trē-ˌāt,

-ˈpa-

repatriated; repatriating

: to return to the country of origin, allegiance, or citizenship

repatriate prisoners of war

repatriation

(ˌ)rē-ˌpā-trē-ˈā-shən

-ˌpa-

noun

repatriate

2 of 2 noun

re·​pa·​tri·​ate

(ˈ)rē-ˈpā-trē-ət,

-tre-ˌāt

: one that is repatriated