verb · 6 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
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Canada, UK:/ɹiːkəˈpɪtʃʊleɪt/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:R IY2 K AH0 P IH1 CH AH0 L EY2 T
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
verb
Meaning 1
To summarize or repeat in concise form.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: ambitransitive
Examples
The entire symphony was recapitulated in the last four bars.
We still have five minutes left, so let's recapitulate the lecture.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
verb
Meaning 2
To reproduce or closely resemble (as in structure or function).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
verb
Meaning 3
To mirror or repeat in analogous form, especially in reference to an individual's development passing through stages corresponding to the species' stages of evolutionary development.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Topics: biology, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
verb
Meaning 4
summarize briefly
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
Let's recapitulate the main ideas
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: recap
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: sum up, summarize, summarise, resume
Narrower terms: retrograde, rehash, hash over
5
verb
Meaning 5
repeat an earlier theme of a composition
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: reprise, reprize, repeat
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: play, spiel
6
verb
Meaning 6
repeat stages of evolutionary development during the embryonic phase of life
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
From Late Latin recapitulātus, past participle of recapitulāre (“to go over the main points of a thing again”), from re- (“again”) + capitulum (“head, main part, chapter”), from caput (“head”) + -ulum (diminutive suffix); see capitulate. By surface analysis, re- + capitulate.
Across languages
Translations
37 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Armenian:
ամփոփել
(ampʻopʻel)
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Bulgarian:
резюмирам
(rezjumiram)
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Chinese Mandarin:
摘要
(zhāiyào)
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Chinese Mandarin:
提要
(tíyào)
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Chinese Mandarin:
擇要 /择要
(zéyào)
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Chinese Mandarin:
小結 /小结
(xiǎojié)
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Chinese Mandarin:
總結 /总结
(zǒngjié)
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Chinese Mandarin:
歸結 /归结
(guījié)
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Chinese Mandarin:
概括
(gàikuò)
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Chinese Mandarin:
總括 /总括
(zǒngkuò)
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Chinese Mandarin:
概述
(gàishù)
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Chinese Mandarin:
歸納 /归纳
(guīnà)
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Chinese Mandarin:
匯總 /汇总
(huìzǒng)
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Dutch:
samenvatten
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Esperanto:
resumi
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Finnish:
tehdä yhteenveto
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Finnish:
vetää yhteen
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
French:
récapituler
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
German:
rekapitulieren
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
German:
zusammenfassen
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
German:
wiederholen
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
German:
sich vergegenwärtigen (noch einmal)
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Hungarian:
átismétel
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Hungarian:
áttekint
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Hungarian:
összefoglal
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Irish:
achoimrigh
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Japanese:
要約する
(yōyaku suru)
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Kazakh:
түйіндеу
(tüiındeu)
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Korean:
요약하다
(yoyakhada)
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Portuguese:
recapitular
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Romanian:
recapitula
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Russian:
подыто́живать
(podytóživatʹ)
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Russian:
подыто́жить
(podytóžitʹ)
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Scottish Gaelic:
ath-innis
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Spanish:
recapitular
— to summarize or repeat in concise form
Finnish:
rekapituloida
— to repeat the evolutionary stages of an organism
Finnish:
seurata
— to repeat the evolutionary stages of an organism