revisit
A1Pronunciation
UK
- /rɪvˈɪzɪt/
US
- /riˈvɪzɪt/
Description
- Go back to
- look at again
- return to
- think about again
To revisit something is not only about going back to a place, though it can mean that. It is also about coming back to an idea, memory, plan, or topic and looking at it again. You might revisit your childhood home and remember things you had forgotten. A teacher might revisit an old lesson so the class can understand it better. Sometimes people revisit hard feelings or past mistakes as they try to make sense of them. The word carries the idea of a second look and a fresh chance to understand something.
Think of it as going back to something that is already familiar because there may still be more to see. A writer might revisit an early draft. A team might revisit an old decision. A reader might revisit a favorite book years later and notice something new.
To revisit means to go back to a place, topic, memory, decision, or experience, usually so you can look at it again or experience it in a new way. It is more than a simple return. It often suggests that you are coming back with a purpose.
You can use it in a literal sense for places: "After many years, she revisited her hometown and was surprised by how much had changed." But it is also very common in a figurative sense. You might revisit an old argument in your mind and see it differently. A writer might revisit a draft and improve it. A manager might revisit a plan after new problems appear. In conversation, people also revisit topics, questions, and choices that are not fully settled.
The feeling depends on the context. Revisiting can be pleasant, as when someone revisits warm memories with family or returns to a favorite city. But it can also be difficult, as when someone revisits past mistakes, painful events, or old disagreements.
Unlike simply remembering something, revisiting usually involves active attention. You are not just letting the past come to mind. You are choosing to return to it, review it, or work through it again. A researcher might revisit earlier results to test them again. A designer might revisit an old idea and improve it. Someone might revisit a book, a conversation, or a personal goal after time has passed.
So whether you are physically returning to a place or mentally returning to an earlier thought, to revisit is to come back with purpose. It means giving something another look, often with the hope of seeing it more clearly than before.
Examples
- 1
Returning home
Ten years after leaving home, she revisited the village where she grew up.
- 2
Meeting discussion
We can revisit that question at the end of the meeting.
- 3
Policy review
The school is revisiting its phone policy after complaints from parents.
- 4
Painful memories
Reading his old letters made her revisit a painful part of her past.
- 5
Favorite books
I still enjoy revisiting that novel every few years.
Forms and spellings
4 forms open this card.
Main spelling
- revisitverb
Forms
- revisitedpast tenseverb
- revisiting-ing formverb
- revisitsverb