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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

iterate.

To perform or repeat an action on each item in a set.

7 characters3 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ˈɪtəɹeɪt/UK/ˈaɪtəɹeɪt/UK/ˈɪtəɹeɪt/Canada, US[ˈɪɾəɹeɪt]Canada, US
  1. To perform or repeat an action on each item in a set.

    The max() function iterates through the data to find the highest value.
  2. To perform or repeat an action on the results of each such prior action.

    In mathematics, an iterated function is a function which is composed with itself, possibly ad infinitum, in a process called iteration.
  3. To utter or do a second time or many times; to repeat.

    archaic · transitive
    to iterate advice
  4. To repeat an activity, making incremental changes each time.

    ambitransitive
Where this word comes from

The adjective is first attested in 1471, in Middle English, the verb in 1533, the noun in 1941; partly inherited from Middle English iterat(e) (adjective), partly borrowed from Latin iterātus, perfect passive participle of iterō (“to do something for a second time, repeat”) (see -ate (etymology 1, 2 and 3)) , from iterum (“again”) + -ō. Sporadical participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.

noun/ˈɪtərət/
  1. An n-fold self-composition of a function.

  2. The image of a certain value under such a function.

    f²(x₀) is the second iterate of x₀ under f.
Where this word comes from

The adjective is first attested in 1471, in Middle English, the verb in 1533, the noun in 1941; partly inherited from Middle English iterat(e) (adjective), partly borrowed from Latin iterātus, perfect passive participle of iterō (“to do something for a second time, repeat”) (see -ate (etymology 1, 2 and 3)) , from iterum (“again”) + -ō. Sporadical participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.

adj
  1. Said or done again; repeated.

    not-comparable · obsolete
  2. Iterated.

    not-comparable · obsolete
Where this word comes from

The adjective is first attested in 1471, in Middle English, the verb in 1533, the noun in 1941; partly inherited from Middle English iterat(e) (adjective), partly borrowed from Latin iterātus, perfect passive participle of iterō (“to do something for a second time, repeat”) (see -ate (etymology 1, 2 and 3)) , from iterum (“again”) + -ō. Sporadical participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.