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

Once the ship docks in the Canary Islands, Spanish authorities will do a full epidemiological investigation on the ship and begin repatriating travelers who are deemed fit to return home. —Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 May 2026

They had been repatriated from New York last month after being traced through Sotheby’s and shipped back to Malaysia on April 14. —Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 6 May 2026

From there, the roughly 140 passengers will be repatriated to their home countries. —ABC News, 6 May 2026

Marta, an 18-year-old college student living in Kyiv, was repatriated with the help of one of those groups, an initiative of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office known as Bring Kids Back. —Shahrzad Rasekh, Hartford Courant, 3 May 2026

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

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• adsorbate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate

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