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

Consequently, Cook became the ideal leader to revisit that very process when geopolitics necessitated repatriating some businesses and friendshoring others. —Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 21 Apr. 2026

Meanwhile, over the last two years, Korean companies have successfully repatriated part of their early investments in India. —Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 21 Apr. 2026

Across the continent, investors have long cited restrictive or opaque capital control regimes as a deterrent to large-scale commitment, particularly when repatriating profits or exiting investments is uncertain. —Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 20 Apr. 2026

Franklin Joseph said Friday that everyone except for a few crew members from the second ship had been repatriated earlier this week. —Krishan Francis, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 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