resume

verb

re·​sume ri-ˈzüm 

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

… 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 resumed …

—Amy Waldman

Synonyms of resume

• continue
• restart
• reopen

Examples of resume in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

Trump has repeatedly threatened to resume strikes if an agreement is not reached soon. —Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 8 June 2026

For my father to string three words together, the unmistakable signal that life could resume as before. —Andrea Bajani, New Yorker, 7 June 2026

So far, Arens has been surprised by how quickly native vegetation resumes life as the water recedes, in some places as soon as two or three years. —Elise Schmelzer, Denver Post, 7 June 2026

Despite being untrained for the job, surviving Black sailors were ordered to resume ammunition loading weeks later. —Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for resume

• assume
• backroom
• ballroom
• barroom
• bathroom
• bedroom
• boardroom
• bridegroom
• classroom
• cloakroom
• consume
• costume

Kids Definition

resume

1 of 2 verb

re·​sume ri-ˈzüm 

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