resume

1 of 2

verb

re·​sume ri-ˈzüm How to pronounce resume (audio)
resumed; resuming; resumes

transitive verb

1
: to assume or take again : reoccupy
resumed his seat by the fire …Thomas Hardy
When the break was over and I'd resumed my place on the stand, the teacher asked for a twenty-minute pose and gave me a stool.Elizabeth Hollander
2
: to return to or begin (something) again after interruption
She resumed her work.
When official mourning was over, Soviet television resumed its normal pace.Bel Kaufman
Her face was changing, resuming its usual expression of gleeful malice.Gail Carson Levine
3
: to take (something) back to oneself : reclaim
If Waukeshaw Development fails to meet the requirements in the agreement, the town can foreclose on the property and resume ownership.Shannon Keith
4
: to pick (something) up again : to go back to using or doing (something, such as a way of behaving)
resume an old habit
The very idea of resuming smoking is so loathsome that it drives the thought out of my head.A. M. Rosenthal
She soon got tired of him and banished him, resuming her way of living as a free spinster.George Bernard Shaw
After a quarter-century of creative silence, Goldschmidt resumed composing.Norman Lebrecht

intransitive verb

: to begin again after a pause or interruption
… emerged from the courthouse the day the trial resumedAmy Waldman

résumé

2 of 2

noun

ré·​su·​mé ˈre-zə-ˌmā How to pronounce résumé (audio)
ˌre-zə-ˈmā,
 also  ˈrā-zə-ˌmā,
 or  ˌrā-zə-ˈmā
variants or resume or less commonly resumé
plural résumés or resumes also resumés
1
US
a
: a short account of one's career and qualifications : curriculum vitae
For the internship, I submitted my résumé, work samples, and a cover letter.Tami Nguyen
… a 90-minute telephone interview with a personnel manager at Intel, who has forwarded the resume to the hiring manager …Hal Lancaster
b
: a set of accomplishments
a musical résumé
[Lucy] Liu's artistic resume is an impressive one; her website displays sculptural works in wood, resin, and bronze, as well as embroidery, silkscreen, assemblage, a Jasper Johns-style deconstructed American flag, and more.Emma Specter
2
formal : summary
He gave a resume of the club's activities throughout the year.Farming Life
… the business of the evening commenced with a resume of the events that had taken place over the summer.The Stourbridge (England) News

Examples of resume in a Sentence

Verb The game resumed after the rain stopped. After the rain stopped, the teams resumed play. She sat down and resumed her work. He shook his visitor's hand and resumed his seat. I resumed my place at the podium. She will be resuming her position at the company. Noun If you would like to be considered for the job, please submit your résumé. His musical résumé includes performances at Carnegie Hall, a stint with the New York Philharmonic, and two Grammys. a brief résumé of the news
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
Students are able to return to their dorms and campus dining will resume standard operations starting at 4:30 p.m. Leo Bertucci, The Courier-Journal, 21 Nov. 2024 Earlier this year, Jin and J-Hope separately finished their service obligations, and full-band activities are expected to resume in 2025. Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 21 Nov. 2024
Noun
None has particularly brawny resumes on those departments' subject matter, which Democrats have repeatedly noted. Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 22 Nov. 2024 Revise your resume, set up job alerts, start applying to jobs. Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for resume 

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French or Latin; Anglo-French resumer, from Latin resumere, from re- + sumere to take up, take — more at consume

Noun

French résumé, from past participle of résumer to resume, summarize, from Middle French resumer

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1782, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of resume was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near resume

Cite this Entry

“Resume.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resume. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

resume

1 of 2 verb
re·​sume ri-ˈzüm How to pronounce resume (audio)
resumed; resuming
1
: to take again : occupy again
resume your seats
2
: to begin again or go back to
resumed the game the next day

résumé

2 of 2 noun
ré·​su·​mé
variants or resume also resumé
ˈrez-ə-ˌmā
1
formal : a brief statement : summary
a résumé of the news
2
: a short account of one's career and qualifications for a job

More from Merriam-Webster on resume

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