retell

retell — verb

1. to repeat a story, piece of news, or information to someone, often using differe

1.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

to repeat a story, piece of news, or information to someone, often using different words or adding personal detail

Example

Hiro's grandmother retold how her family came to Taiwan after the war.

retell + how-clause for recounting past events

The news anchor retold the day's events in simple words for young viewers.

retell + events for news coverage

Common collocations
  • retell a story
  • retell an event
  • retell a tale
  • retell the plot
Synonyms
  • recount

    more formal; suggests giving a detailed, step-by-step account

  • narrate

    more literary; implies structured storytelling with a clear beginning and end

  • repeat

    broader meaning; can refer to saying anything again, often word-for-word

Grammar Patterns

retell + noun phrase

retell + noun phrase + to + person

Usage Note

Object is usually a narrative, account, or set of information that the listener has heard before. Unlike 'repeat', retelling often involves rephrasing or summarising rather than saying the exact same words.

Common Mistakes

Please retell me the joke.
Please tell me the joke again.
'retell' takes the content as direct object; the listener is introduced by 'to', not as a direct object.
She retold again the story.
She retold the story again.
'again' is redundant with the 're-' prefix but still used for emphasis; place it after the object.

2. to deliver a joke you picked up from someone else, or to say a joke once more af

2.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to deliver a joke you picked up from someone else, or to say a joke once more after already having told it

Example

Bilal retold the same joke at every party, but people still laughed.

retell + joke; informal spoken context

Constanza tried to retell the joke from her coworker, but she forgot the punchline.

retell + joke + from [source person]

Common collocations
  • retell a joke
  • retell a funny story
Synonyms
  • repeat

    more general; works for any kind of information, not just jokes

  • rehash

    negative connotation; suggests telling something old or unoriginal

Grammar Patterns

retell + a joke

retell + joke + to + person

Usage Note

This sense is restricted to jokes and humorous stories — not used for other types of information. Common in informal spoken English. The listener may or may not have heard the joke before; the focus is on the act of delivering a joke that originates from somewhere else.

Common Mistakes

He retold me the joke.
He retold the joke to me.
'retell' requires 'to' before the indirect object; it does not allow a double-object construction like 'tell me'.

Word family

  • tell
    verbA1
  • retelling
    nounB2
  • teller
    nounB1
  • storyteller
    nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Retell, recount, narrate, and repeat all involve saying something again or presenting information, but they differ in context and connotation. 'Retell' is the most straightforward learner word — it means telling a story or information again, often rephrasing in one's own words, as in 'The students retold the fable in their own words.' 'Recount' is more formal and suggests a careful, orderly presentation of past events, like 'She recounted every detail of the trip.' 'Narrate' has a literary or performative feel, implying structured storytelling with a clear beginning, middle, and end — for example, 'The documentary is narrated by a well-known actor.' 'Repeat' is the broadest term and can mean saying anything again word-for-word, such as 'Please repeat the question.' The key difference: when you retell, you typically rephrase or summarise; when you repeat, you usually copy exactly.

retell ↗recount ↗narraterepeat ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Formed in English from the prefix 're-' (meaning 'again') + 'tell' (from Old English 'tellan', meaning 'to count, recount, narrate'). The base word 'tell' comes from Proto-Germanic '*taljaną' (to count or recount), originally connected to counting items one by one before shifting toward verbal narration. The compound 'retell' has been used since the 1500s to mean 'to tell again'.