restart

restart — noun

1. a moment or event when you begin a process or activity again after it was stoppe

1.nounB1
Definition

a moment or event when you begin a process or activity again after it was stopped or paused.

Example

After the crash, Kian did a full restart of his computer to clear the error.

collocation: full restart

Gabriela welcomed the restart of her evening classes after the summer holiday ended.

pattern: restart of [something]

Common collocations
  • full restart
  • system restart
  • quick restart
  • restart of negotiations
Synonyms
  • resumption

    more formal; suggests continuing from where things stopped rather than beginning anew

  • renewal

    suggests fresh energy or a new phase, not simply restarting the same thing

Antonyms
  • shutdown

    a full stop of a process with no plan to restart

Grammar Patterns

a restart (of something)

the restart (of something)

Usage Note

Often used with 'full' or 'complete' to emphasise starting entirely from the beginning rather than resuming.

restart — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

'Restart' is the most general word for making something begin again, whether a machine or an activity. 'Resume' is more formal and specifically implies continuing from where you left off, not going back to the beginning — you resume a meeting after lunch, but you restart a computer after a crash. 'Reboot' is limited to computers and electronic devices and suggests reloading the operating system. 'Reopen' applies to abstract things like discussions, investigations, or legal cases — you reopen a debate, not a laptop. For everyday speech about activities, 'restart' is the natural choice: 'I restarted my yoga practice.' For formal writing about continuing interrupted work, 'resume' fits better: 'The committee resumed its inquiry after the break.'

restart ↗resume ↗rebootreopen ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • restart from scratch
  • restart after a break
  • full restart
  • complete restart
  • quick restart

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

'Restart' is formed by adding the prefix 're-' (meaning 'again') to the verb 'start', which comes from Old English 'styrtan' meaning 'to leap up or begin'. The compound 'restart' first appeared in English in the early 20th century, and became especially common with the rise of computers in the 1970s, when it was used for rebooting machines.