Standard Lemma guide

iteration

noun · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌɪt.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/
  • Received-Pronunciation: [ˌɪt.əˈɹeɪ.ʃn̩]
  • Southern-England: Berkshire Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Canada, General-American: /ˌɪt.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/
  • Canada, General-American: [ˌɪɾ.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən]
  • Australian: /ˌɪt.əˈɹæɪ.ʃən/
  • Australian: [ˌɪɾ.əˈɹæɪ.ʃən]
  • New-Zealand: /ˌət.əˈɹæɪ.ʃən/
  • New-Zealand: [ˌəɾ.əˈɹæɪ.ʃən]
  • rhymes with -eɪʃən
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 T ER0 EY1 SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A recital or a second performance; a repetition.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A variation or version.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • The architect drafted several iterations of the floorplan before deciding on his final design.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The use of repetition in a computer program, especially in the form of a loop.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A single repetition of the code within such a repetitive process.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

Examples

  • The code calculates the appropriate value at each iteration.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

doing or saying again; a repeated performance

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: repetition, repeating

6

noun

Meaning 6

(computer science) executing the same set of instructions a given number of times or until a specified result is obtained

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the solution is obtained by iteration

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: looping

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: process, physical process

7

noun

Meaning 7

(computer science) a single execution of a set of instructions that are to be repeated

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the solution took hundreds of iterations

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: loop

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: process, physical process

History

Etymology

From Latin iterātiō, from iterō. Morphologically iterate + -ion.

Across languages

Translations

45 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: herhaling — second performance, repetition
  • German: Wiederholung — second performance, repetition
  • Indonesian: perlelaran — second performance, repetition
  • Indonesian: perulangan — second performance, repetition
  • Russian: раз (raz) — second performance, repetition
  • Russian: повто́р (povtór) — second performance, repetition
  • Bulgarian: итера́ция (iterácija) — repetition in a computer program
  • Chinese Mandarin: 疊代 /叠代 (diédài) — repetition in a computer program
  • Chinese Mandarin: 迭代 (diédài) — repetition in a computer program
  • Czech: iterace — repetition in a computer program
  • Dutch: iteratie — repetition in a computer program
  • Dutch: herhaling — repetition in a computer program
  • Finnish: iteraatio — repetition in a computer program
  • French: itération — repetition in a computer program
  • German: Iteration — repetition in a computer program
  • Hungarian: iteráció — repetition in a computer program
  • Indonesian: lelaran — repetition in a computer program
  • Italian: iterazione — repetition in a computer program
  • Macedonian: повторливост (povtorlivost) — repetition in a computer program
  • Māori: whitiauau — repetition in a computer program
  • Norwegian: iterasjon — repetition in a computer program
  • Polish: iteracja — repetition in a computer program
  • Portuguese: iteração — repetition in a computer program
  • Romanian: iterație — repetition in a computer program
  • Romanian: iterare — repetition in a computer program
  • Russian: итера́ция (iterácija) — repetition in a computer program
  • Spanish: iteración — repetition in a computer program
  • Swedish: iteration — repetition in a computer program
  • Tagalog: pagliwan — repetition in a computer program
  • Ukrainian: ітера́ція (iterácija) — repetition in a computer program
  • Vietnamese: phép lặp — repetition in a computer program
  • Finnish: iteraatiokerta — single repetition of the code within a process
  • French: itération — single repetition of the code within a process
  • German: Iterationsschritt — single repetition of the code within a process
  • German: Iteration — single repetition of the code within a process
  • German: Durchlauf — single repetition of the code within a process
  • Indonesian: lelaran — single repetition of the code within a process
  • Italian: iterazione — single repetition of the code within a process
  • Macedonian: повторливост (povtorlivost) — single repetition of the code within a process
  • Polish: iteracja — single repetition of the code within a process
  • Portuguese: iteração — single repetition of the code within a process
  • Spanish: iteración — single repetition of the code within a process
  • Swedish: iteration — single repetition of the code within a process
  • Tagalog: pagliwan — single repetition of the code within a process
  • Ukrainian: ітера́ція (iterácija) — single repetition of the code within a process
Real reading context

iteration in complete knowledge articles