repeater

[ri-pee-ter] /rɪˈpi tər/
noun
1.
a person or thing that repeats.
2.
a repeating firearm.
3.
Horology. a timepiece, especially a watch, that may be made to strike the hour or part of the hour.
Compare clock watch.
4.
Education. a pupil who repeats a course or group of courses that he or she has failed.
5.
a person who votes illegally by casting more than one vote in the same election.
6.
a person who has been convicted and sentenced for one crime, and later for another; recidivist.
7.
Mathematics. (no longer in technical use) a repeating decimal.
8.
Telecommunications. a device capable of receiving one-way or two-way communications signals and delivering corresponding signals that are either amplified, reshaped, or both.
9.
Navigation, gyro repeater.
Origin
1570-80; repeat + -er1
Related forms
nonrepeater, noun
Examples from the web for repeater
  • Each smart meter is a transmitter and receiver and repeater for the other meter signals.
  • There it will stay hidden in the scrub to serve as a radio repeater for the signal from the tiny bug left inside.
British Dictionary definitions for repeater

repeater

/rɪˈpiːtə/
noun
1.
a person or thing that repeats
2.
Also called repeating firearm. a firearm capable of discharging several shots without reloading
3.
a timepiece having a mechanism enabling it to strike the hour or quarter-hour just past, when a spring is pressed
4.
(electrical engineering) a device that amplifies or augments incoming electrical signals and retransmits them, thus compensating for transmission losses
5.
(nautical) Also called substitute. one of three signal flags hoisted with others to indicate that one of the top three is to be repeated
Word Origin and History for repeater
n.

1570s, agent noun from repeat (v.). As a type of firearm from 1868; as "a frequent offender" from 1884.

repeater in Technology

networking, communications
A network or communications device which propagates electrical signals from one cable to another, amplifying them to restore them to full strength in the process. Repeaters are used to counter the attenuation which occurs when signals travel long distances (e.g. across an ocean).
A network repeater is less intelligent than a bridge, gateway or router since it works at the physical layer.
(1998-07-16)