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

But the pandemic also gave Celebrity the unenviable job of repatriating thousands of crewmen to their homes around the globe — all while making sure that none encountered a member of the public. —Jim Saunders, Sun Sentinel, 6 May 2025

The remains of about 10,000 service members buried at the cemetery during the war were eventually repatriated to the U.S. —Blane Bachelor, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 May 2025

Jeremy Colliton Former Chicago head coach Jeremy Colliton would be an interesting candidate, if the Canucks were open to repatriating the New Jersey Devils assistant coach who left the organization just last summer. —Harman Dayal, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025

Three weeks later, once Anka regained strength, U.S. forces repatriated her to Prague. —Amelie Botbol, FOXNews.com, 8 May 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