iterate

English

Etymology

From Latin iterō (“do it for a second time, repeat”), from iterum (“again”), akin to is (“he, that”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɪtəɹeɪt/, /ˈaɪtəɹeɪt/

  • Audio (UK):

    (file)

Verb

iterate (third-person singular simple present iterates, present participle iterating, simple past and past participle iterated)

1. (computing) to perform or repeat an action on each item in a set

   The max() function iterates through the data to find the highest value.

2. (computing, mathematics) to perform or repeat an action on the results of each such prior action

   In mathematics, an iterated function is a function which is composed with itself, possibly ad infinitum, in a process called iteration.

3. (transitive, archaic) To utter or do a second time or many times; to repeat.

   to iterate advice

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC:

     Nor Eve to iterate / Her former trespass feared.

4. (design, transitive, intransitive) To repeat an activity, making incremental changes each time
   • December 13 2021, Molly Ball, Jeffrey Kluger and Alejandro de la Garza, “Elon Musk: Person of the Year 2021”, in Time Magazine‎^[1]:

     For NASA and most private aerospace companies, a single crash is a setback that can take years to recover from. SpaceX works more like a Silicon Valley startup, where the goal is to fail quickly and iterate.

Synonyms

• (to repeat): reiterate; see also Thesaurus:reiterate

Translations

To utter or do a second time

• Bulgarian: повтарям (bg) (povtarjam)

• French: itérer (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Noun

iterate (plural iterates)

1. (mathematics) a function that iterates

   f²(x₀) is the second iterate of x₀ under f.

   • 2011, M. A. Kaashoek, T. T. West, Locally Compact Semi-Algebras, page 8:

     An important example of such a semigroup in infinite dimensional Hilbert space is the weak operator closed monothetic semigroup generated by a linear operator with equibounded iterates.

Derived terms

• reiterate
• iterative
• iterator

Adjective

iterate (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Said or done again; repeated.
   • 1558, Thomas Watson, Sermons on the Ssacraments:

     The baptisme is good and may not be iterate and geuen agayne.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:repeated

Further reading

• “iterate”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “iterate”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “iterate”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• ariette

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Italian

Etymology 1

Verb

iterate

1. inflection of iterare:
   1. second-person plural present indicative
   2. second-person plural imperative

Etymology 2

Participle

iterate f pl

1. feminine plural of iterato

Anagrams

• ariette, iettare, ietterà

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Latin

Verb

(deprecated template usage) iterāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of iterō