What does reprise mean?
A reprise is a repetition or return: as a verb, to reprise something is to perform, present, or continue it again, while as a noun it denotes the repeated passage or the return itself. The word is especially familiar in music, where an encore may consist of an ensemble repeating a theme from the main performance. It is also used more figuratively when someone revisits an earlier role, career, or project—for example, a performer reprising a famous character. This broader sense often suggests deliberate nostalgia or revival rather than simple repetition. Reprise is used in both British and American English, though applications beyond music can sound formal or literary. The word is related to the French idea of taking or doing something again and ultimately to Latin verbs associated with taking or seizing. Its combination of musical precision and broader metaphorical usefulness makes it especially effective for describing a return to something once familiar.
To repeat or return to a song, passage, performance, role, or earlier activity.
"The singer reprised the song from her first album during the final encore."
Often transitive, taking the song, role, or activity as its object; it can also be used intransitively in the sense of returning to an earlier activity.
A repeated musical passage, performance, role, or return to an earlier activity or phase of a career.
"The concert closed with a reprise of the suite's best-known melody."
The musical sense is dominant, while broader uses for a career or project returning to an earlier form are formal and often deliberately nostalgic.
The plural refers to separate repeated passages, performances, or returns to earlier activities.
"The album's reprises of its signature themes brought the audience to its feet."
Borrowed from a French word built on the idea of taking or doing something again, reprise began with repeated music and became a metaphor for returning to a former role or era.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does reprise come from?
English borrowed reprise from French, where it is the feminine past participle of reprendre, meaning “take again.” French reprendre developed from Latin reprehendere, formed from re- and prehendere, the source of cognates such as comprehend, apprehend, and prehensile. In English, reprise was established for repeated musical selections before extending to repeated performances, roles, and broader returns to earlier activities.
How reprise is actually used
The noun is common in discussions of music and performance and is also used formally or figuratively for a career or activity returning to an earlier form. As a verb, it often conveys deliberate revival rather than an accidental repetition.
Easily confused with reprise
A reprieve postpones or cancels a punishment, whereas a reprise repeats a performance or returns to an earlier role or activity.