To repair something means to fix it after it's been damaged or broken. When you repair a torn book page, you tape it back together. When a mechanic repairs a car engine, they replace broken parts and get it running again. When you repair a friendship after an argument, you work to make things right between you and your friend.

The word comes from a Latin root meaning “to make ready again.” That's exactly what repair does: it takes something that stopped working properly and restores it to usefulness. A bicycle with a flat tire needs repair. A fence damaged in a storm needs repair. Sometimes repairs are simple, like sewing a button back on a shirt. Other times they're complex, like repairing a computer's circuit board.

People who are skilled at repair work are valuable because they help things last longer instead of being thrown away. A repair shop is a place where broken items get fixed. Some repairs are temporary patches, while others restore something completely. Learning to repair things yourself, whether that's mending clothes, fixing a loose desk drawer, or debugging code, gives you independence and confidence. It teaches patience, too: good repair work takes time and attention to detail.

As a noun, a repair is the act of fixing something, or the fixed condition afterward. You might say a road is “in need of repair” or that a bike is “in good repair.”