repair

re|pair¹ S3 [rıˈpeə US -ˈper] v [T]

[Date: 1300-1400; : Old French; Origin: reparer, from Latin reparare, from parare 'to prepare']

1.) to fix something that is damaged, broken, split, or not working properly

British Equivalent: mend

▪ Dad was up the ladder, repairing the roof.

▪ Where can I get my shoes repaired ?

2.) formal to do something to remove harm that you have caused

British Equivalent: mend

▪ Neil tried to repair the damage that his statements had caused.

→↑irreparable

repair to [repair to sth] phr v

old-fashioned to go to a place

▪ Shall we repair to the drawing room?

>repairer n

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WORD CHOICE: repair, fix, mend

Repair is slightly more formal than fix or mend . You can repair anything that is broken or damaged, or has a hole in it : He repairs old furniture. |It cost too much to get the car repaired. |The roof needs repairing in a few places.

In British English, fix and mend have the same meaning, but people more often use fix to talk about repairing a machine, vehicle etc and mend to talk about repairing holes in clothes, roads, roofs, and fences.

In American English, mend is usually only used to talk about repairing things with holes in them, especially clothes and shoes.

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repair ²

repair² W3S3 n

1.) [U and C]

something that you do to fix a thing that is damaged, broken, or not working

repair to

▪ repairs to the roads

make/carry out/do repairs

▪ His job is to make minor repairs on all the machines.

▪ The church tower is in need of repair .

structural/housing/motorway etc repairs

▪ an extensive programme of building repairs

beyond repair

▪ Many of the paintings were beyond repair (=so damaged that they cannot be mended) .

under repair

(=being repaired)

▪ Is the bridge still under repair?

▪ They did a good repair job on the roof.

2.) in good/poor etc repair

in good or bad condition

▪ Garden tools should be kept in good repair .