repertory

noun

rep·​er·​to·​ry ˈre-pər-ˌtȯr-ē 

ˈre-pə-

plural repertories

1

: a place where something may be found : repository

2

a

: repertoire

b

: a company that presents several different plays, operas, or pieces usually alternately in the course of a season at one theater

c

: a theater housing such a company

3

: the production and presentation of plays by a repertory company

acting in repertory

Example Sentences

She acted in repertory for many years.

Recent Examples on the Web

Opera is expensive; in their panic to boost ticket sales and avoid deficits, major companies have increasingly leaned on tried and true repertory works over the costly gamble of a new piece. —Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 8 May 2023

In his 10 years as general and artistic director of the Atlanta Opera, Tomer Zvulun has worked assiduously to put the company on the map by increasing its budget, expanding its performance schedule, and staging nonstandard repertory titles in alternative spaces. —Heidi Waleson, wsj.com, 3 May 2023

With seven days a week of programming, Vidiots will schedule repertory titles, new independent films, classics, all-ages programs and education and preservation initiatives. —Pat Saperstein, Variety, 17 Apr. 2023

Whether at the repertory house or the multiplex, box office has not yet rebounded from the one-two punch of COVID-19 and Roku. —Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Mar. 2023

Johnstone endows M3gan with an arch, chilly, and chilling repertory of facial expressions and verbal inflections. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2023

The libretto is clumsy; the plot, about a Russian princess who falls in love with the man who murdered her fiancé, is distant and tangled; and the music, save for a short aria, has largely faded from the standard repertory. —Javier C. Hernández, New York Times, 29 Dec. 2022

In 75 years, the company’s dancers have leapt their way through a repertory of more than 400 ballets. —Teresa Nowakowski, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Apr. 2023

The festival curtailed its repertory productions last fall, which exacerbated the revenue shortfall, and executives turned their focus to fundraising. —oregonlive, 12 Apr. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Late Latin repertorium list, from Latin reperire to find, from re- + parere to produce — more at pare

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

repertory

noun

rep·​er·​to·​ry ˈrep-ə(r)-ˌtōr-ē 

-ˌtȯr-

plural repertories

1

: a place where something may be found

2

a

: repertoire

b

: a company that performs different plays or pieces in the course of a season

c

: a theater in which such a company performs