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When reprise was first adopted into English in the 15th century, it referred to a deduction or charge made yearly out of a manor or estate (and was usually used in the plural form reprises). It probably won't surprise you, then, to learn that reprise comes from an Anglo-French word meaning "seizure, repossession, or expense." Eventually, reprise came to refer to any action that was repeated or resumed. A later sense, borrowed from modern French, applies to specific types of repetition in musical compositions. That sense was eventually generalized to describe any subsequent and identical performance. It's possible, for example, to have a reprise of a television program or a book.
Examples of reprise in a Sentence
Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2025
Most of the cast reprise their roles.
—Griff Griffin, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2025
Pausini, who sat for a star Q&A at Billboard Latin Music Week in 2015, will reprise the moment at this year’s event as the Icon Q&A artist and also receive the Icon Award at the Billboard Latin Music Awards.
—Leila Cobo, Billboard, 14 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reprise
Cite this Entry
“Reprise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reprise. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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