redound

verb

re·​dound ri-ˈdau̇nd How to pronounce redound (audio)
redounded; redounding; redounds

intransitive verb

1
archaic : to become swollen : overflow
2
: to have an effect for good or ill
new power alignments which may or may not redound to the faculty's benefitG. W. Bonham
3
: to become transferred or added : accrue
4

Did you know?

A rising tide, as they say, lifts all boats. Or to be redundant: a redounding tide undulates such that the surrounding water elevates every pontoon. This latter sentence—in addition to featuring five words with some relationship to the Latin word for “wave,” unda (redundant, redound, undulate, surround, and water)—highlights the earliest and now-archaic meaning of redound, “to swell or overflow,” which entered English in the 14th century. Since then, additional uses of redound have abounded (abound being another unda relation), all containing ripples, however faint, of the original aqueous meaning. When an action or accomplishment redounds to someone’s credit or honor, for example, it reflects positively back on them the way a wave produced by someone jumping into a pool bounces back to the jumper. And when something redounds to someone’s advantage, one might say that it helps by accruing like, well, a rising tide.

Examples of redound in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Amid extreme uncertainty, at least one is clear: Trump putting his name on the Fed’s role in the economy won’t redound to Asia’s benefit. William Pesek, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024 Attacks on democracy also are redounding, to democracy’s favor. Joe Mathews, The Mercury News, 5 Oct. 2024 Because American companies and foundations are private actors, however, the benefits of their investments do not redound to the U.S. government. Elizabeth Economy, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024 Whether high gas prices due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine or post-pandemic inflation at the grocery store, Biden absorbed the outrage while the mitigating steps taken by his Administration have not redounded to his credit. Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for redound 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Middle French redunder, from Latin redundare, from re-, red- re- + unda wave — more at water

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of redound was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Redound.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/redound. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

redound

verb
re·​dound ri-ˈdau̇nd How to pronounce redound (audio)
: to have a result for good or bad

More from Merriam-Webster on redound

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