resume

1 of 2

verb

re·​sume ri-ˈzüm How to pronounce resume (audio)
resumed; resuming; resumes

transitive verb

1
: to assume or take again : reoccupy
resumed his seat by the fire …Thomas Hardy
When the break was over and I'd resumed my place on the stand, the teacher asked for a twenty-minute pose and gave me a stool.Elizabeth Hollander
2
: to return to or begin (something) again after interruption
She resumed her work.
When official mourning was over, Soviet television resumed its normal pace.Bel Kaufman
Her face was changing, resuming its usual expression of gleeful malice.Gail Carson Levine
3
: to take (something) back to oneself : reclaim
If Waukeshaw Development fails to meet the requirements in the agreement, the town can foreclose on the property and resume ownership.Shannon Keith
4
: to pick (something) up again : to go back to using or doing (something, such as a way of behaving)
resume an old habit
The very idea of resuming smoking is so loathsome that it drives the thought out of my head.A. M. Rosenthal
She soon got tired of him and banished him, resuming her way of living as a free spinster.George Bernard Shaw
After a quarter-century of creative silence, Goldschmidt resumed composing.Norman Lebrecht

intransitive verb

: to begin again after a pause or interruption
… emerged from the courthouse the day the trial resumedAmy Waldman

résumé

2 of 2

noun

ré·​su·​mé ˈre-zə-ˌmā How to pronounce résumé (audio)
ˌre-zə-ˈmā,
 also  ˈrā-zə-ˌmā,
 or  ˌrā-zə-ˈmā
variants or resume or less commonly resumé
plural résumés or resumes also resumés
1
US
a
: a short account of one's career and qualifications : curriculum vitae
For the internship, I submitted my résumé, work samples, and a cover letter.Tami Nguyen
… a 90-minute telephone interview with a personnel manager at Intel, who has forwarded the resume to the hiring manager …Hal Lancaster
b
: a set of accomplishments
a musical résumé
[Lucy] Liu's artistic resume is an impressive one; her website displays sculptural works in wood, resin, and bronze, as well as embroidery, silkscreen, assemblage, a Jasper Johns-style deconstructed American flag, and more.Emma Specter
2
formal : summary
He gave a resume of the club's activities throughout the year.Farming Life
… the business of the evening commenced with a resume of the events that had taken place over the summer.The Stourbridge (England) News

Examples of resume in a Sentence

Verb The game resumed after the rain stopped. After the rain stopped, the teams resumed play. She sat down and resumed her work. He shook his visitor's hand and resumed his seat. I resumed my place at the podium. She will be resuming her position at the company. Noun If you would like to be considered for the job, please submit your résumé. His musical résumé includes performances at Carnegie Hall, a stint with the New York Philharmonic, and two Grammys. a brief résumé of the news
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The Voyager 1 spacecraft returned usable data for the first time in more than five months, giving hope for the 46-year-old mission to finally be able to resume its normal operations. Passant Rabie / Gizmodo, Quartz, 23 Apr. 2024 The most distant spacecraft from Earth has resumed sending data after a five-month gap, NASA said Monday. Kerry Breen, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2024 Among the countries that suspended payments over Israel’s allegations, several — including Canada, Japan and Australia — have resumed funding UNRWA, citing the spiraling humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and steps taken by the agency to improve accountability. Patrick Kingsley, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2024 Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visited the U.S. last week, and a group affiliated with Kataib Hezbollah said armed factions in Iraq had decided to resume attacks after having seen little progress on talks to end the U.S.-led military coalition in the country. John Bacon, USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2024 That side of him resumed; in 1993, he was arrested in Saratoga Springs, New York, after getting into a shoving match with cops, and his drinking led to fights with band members and missed shows. David Browne, Rolling Stone, 18 Apr. 2024 Donald Trump complains about jury selection as his hush money trial resumes. Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 18 Apr. 2024 Trump hush money trial updates: Jury seated in case Jury selection is scheduled to resume on Friday to find the remaining five alternate jurors for the case. Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 18 Apr. 2024 The country endured a major respiratory disease outbreak in 2023 after pulling itself out of the Covid mire in late 2022, well after other nations had thrown open their borders and allowed pathogens to resume their traditional circulation patterns. Bloomberg News, TIME, 11 Apr. 2024
Noun
Courtesy of Mercer Going deeper In the latest episode of Fortune’s Leadership Next podcast, Alan Murray sits down with Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins to discuss a new role he’s added to his resume, chair of the Business Roundtable. Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2024 The free event gave people a chance to sharpen their interview skills, prepare resumes or network with tech professionals. Vinod Sreeharsha, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2024 Back then, Hurley was far away from Wright in terms of resume. Tim Casey, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024 He's also lately bolstered his resume with onscreen roles in Spoiler Alert and Hollywood following The Big Bang Theory's conclusion in 2019. Brendan Le, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024 But questions have been raised about the accuracy of some parts of Mizuhara's resume; NBC Los Angeles reports that officials at UC Riverside did not find records of Mizuhara attending. Bill Chappell, NPR, 25 Mar. 2024 Indiana Wesleyan has three championships on its resume, while Northwestern and College of Idaho have two apiece. Kansas City Star, 23 Mar. 2024 French was Lakota's director of K-6 curriculum and instruction from 2018 until 2023, according to her resume. The Enquirer, 1 Apr. 2024 So Jones returns with one season of starting now on his resume, but with a lot to prove, also. Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 29 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'resume.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French or Latin; Anglo-French resumer, from Latin resumere, from re- + sumere to take up, take — more at consume

Noun

French résumé, from past participle of résumer to resume, summarize, from Middle French resumer

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1782, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of resume was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near resume

Cite this Entry

“Resume.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resume. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

resume

1 of 2 verb
re·​sume ri-ˈzüm How to pronounce resume (audio)
resumed; resuming
1
: to take again : occupy again
resume your seats
2
: to begin again or go back to
resumed the game the next day

résumé

2 of 2 noun
ré·​su·​mé
variants or resume also resumé
ˈrez-ə-ˌmā
1
: a brief statement : summary
a résumé of the news
2
: a short account of one's career and qualifications for a job

More from Merriam-Webster on resume

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