to take up or go on with again after interruption; continue.
to resume a journey.
to take or occupy again.
to resume one's seat.
to take or assume use or practice of again.
to resume her maiden name.
to take back.
to resume the title to a property.
to go on or continue after interruption.
The dancing is about to resume.
to begin again.
a brief written account of personal, educational, and professional qualifications and experience, as that prepared by an applicant for a job.
a summing up; summary.
to begin again or go on with (something adjourned or interrupted)
(tr) to occupy again, take back, or recover
to resume one's seat
to resume possession
(tr) to assume (a title, office, etc) again
to resume the presidency
archaic to summarize; make a résumé of
a short descriptive summary, as of events
another name for curriculum vitae
Some French words borrowed into English preserve foreign features, like accent marks: café , déjà vu , résumé , séance , etc. In French, accent marks serve two purposes. They can mark a different vowel quality (the vowels e , è and é are pronounced very differently), or they may distinguish two words that would otherwise be homographs ( ou without an accent means “or,” while où with an accent means “where”). When you use these words in English, it is correct to write them with the French accents or without; the spellings divorcée and divorcee are both accepted. Some people prefer including the accent for accuracy or to evoke a subtle European flavor. The inclusion or omission of an accent mark when naming an establishment cafe or café suggests a certain expectation for the style and tone of the place. Other people find any use of a foreign accent mark to be unnecessary and pretentious. Be aware of your audience when making this decision. As in the original French, accents are useful for differentiating between two homographs. English speakers are more likely to keep the accents in a word like résumé or exposé in order to avoid confusion with the verbs resume or expose . Words without confusable English counterparts, like deja vu or cafe , are less likely to maintain their accents in written English. Generally, the use of foreign accents for words borrowed into English is optional. However, if you do choose to use accented letters, be sure to use the correct accent and be consistent within the word. For example, déjà vu has an acute (rising) accent mark in the first syllable and a grave (falling) accent in the second. The word résumé has two acute accent marks. Avoid haphazard or false accent marking, as sometimes seen in the spellings dejá vu or resumé . The best rule to follow for foreign accent marks is all or nothing.
Spelling tips for resume There are two words that use the spelling resume, and they’re pronounced very differently, which can make things confusing. As a verb meaning “to continue,” resume is pronounced [ ri-zoom ], which can sound like it should be spelled rezoom. As a noun referring to a list of a person’s professional qualifications, resume is pronounced [ rez-oo-mey ]. To reflect this pronunciation, the noun is sometimes spelled in the French manner, with accent marks (résumé or resumé), but they are not required and it is better to avoid using them. How to spell resume: First, remember that you don’t need any accent marks to spell the noun resume. You can remember how to spell the middle part by remembering that a resume should include the sum of your professional accomplishments. Then just remember that the verb that means “to continue” is spelled the exact same way.
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English resumen, from Middle French resumer or directly from Latin resūmere “to take back, take again,” equivalent to re- “again, back” + sūmere “to take”; see re-, consume
First recorded in 1795–1805; from French résumé, noun use of past participle of résumer “to sum up”
If you resume something, you start it again after stopping. You might resume singing an aria after breaking to spit out your gum. Resume is from Latin resumere "to take up again, take back," from the prefix re- "again" plus sumere "to take up, take." The Latin verb sumere is formed from the prefix sub- "under, up" plus emere "to take." When you pause a movie or game and then you press play again, what you're really doing is resuming play.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That will allow it to both cover the $50-million annual cost of the emergency vouchers and resume processing the suspended applications.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
A specialist air force team was expected to travel to the Ionian island to remove the aircraft from the runway and allow airport operations to resume.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
It is not clear when talks will resume after this latest round of strikes, as Trump responded to a question about whether talks would resume after the funeral with: "I don't care".
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Their lawsuit also claims that when an account is shut down for dangerous behavior, OpenAI instructs the individual on how to resume usage, including tips on how to circumvent the 30-day suspension period.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
The prospect would be of a thousand, or thousands of incarcerated nights, sleeplessly turning over the past, waiting for his life to resume, wondering if it ever would.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
But what really made Platner appealing to Moraff and Fan didn’t have anything to do with the kind of person he was or what was, or wasn’t, on his résumé.
From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2026
They had spent millions on a high-profile coach with a glittering European résumé.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Still, hiring anyone with his résumé didn’t come cheap.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Before 1994, it was rare to see an American playing for a major club in Europe; this summer more than two-thirds of the players on the U.S. team have that on their résumé.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026
My makeup was minimal, and I carried a black leather briefcase with copies of my résumé.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
They check online job listings on LinkedIn and other sites, send out resumes, make calls and … nothing.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
The board resumes meeting in August, giving it time to adopt a revised budget before an adviser would be named.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
American icon Serena Williams, 44, is making a blockbuster singles comeback after four years away from the sport and also resumes her iconic doubles pairing with sister Venus, 46.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
Trading in oil markets resumes at 6 p.m.
From Barron's ● Jun. 20, 2026
The program resumes with the CBS announcer introducing the second part of The War of the Worlds.
From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are on track to finish the week higher, overcoming a choppy stretch after the U.S. and Iran resumed attacks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Haider al-Aboudi, a spokesman for Zaidi, said financial transfers have resumed, but he declined to address the steps to restrict dollars agreed to by Baghdad.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
The standards commissioner's investigation has been paused following Farage's resignation but it could be resumed if he wins the by-election and returns to Parliament.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
"Incoming orders in the manufacturing sector appear to have resumed the upward trend that began in the second half of 2025," said the economy ministry in a statement.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
Dust clouds bloomed around the mining robot as he resumed working.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
But that offered only temporary relief, with the selloff resuming as risk appetite returned amid easing tensions in the Middle East.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
With Phillips resuming on 49, England telegraphed their plan and Phillips was happy to take on the short ball.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
"Now we are looking into the possibility of resuming visits to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra sites... because it must continue to live," he said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026
“That dynamic likely keeps inflation risks elevated enough to leave the Fed on hold, pending clearer evidence that inflation is resuming its path lower.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026
Grover announced that he'd be able to spend the rest of the summer with us before resuming his quest for Pan.
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
