rendition
noun
David SavoldAndrew Amelinckx 
Did you know?
When a singer performs their rendition of someone else's song, or a chef adds a few twists to someone else’s recipe to concoct their own unique rendition, each is—in a sense—returning: returning to something old in order to create something new. Fittingly, the word rendition, which has been part of English since at least the early 1600s, traces back ultimately to the Latin verb reddere, meaning "to return." Reddere is also the ancestor of the English verb render, whose many meanings include "to give a performance of" and "to give up or yield." Although render took a different path from reddere than did rendition, it's perhaps no surprise that the latter fundamentally means "an act or result of rendering something," and may be applied to everything from a performance, depiction, or translation of something, to a surrender (surrender being another reddere descendent), as in "fugitives awaiting rendition to a neighboring state."
Examples of rendition in a Sentence
Erik S. Hanley, jsonline.com, 23 July 2025
The band brings hybrid versions that capture the essence of the studio releases along with the magic of live renditions, creating an experience that is both familiar and fresh.
—Holly Alvarado, Oc Register, 16 July 2025
Both renditions are out now via Red Hot Organization.
—Walden Green, Pitchfork, 16 July 2025
Celebrities who previously wouldn’t have considered cutting their long hair have now taken the plunge, including Nicole Kidman and Pamela Anderson, both of whom debuted unique renditions of the look at the 2025 Met Gala.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 15 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for rendition
Cite this Entry
“Rendition.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rendition. Accessed 31 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rendition
noun
Legal Definition
rendition
noun
Share