A repertoire is a collection of pieces that a performer knows well and can perform at any time. A pianist might have a repertoire of twenty concertos she can play from memory. A theater company's repertoire includes all the plays they're ready to stage. A stand-up comedian's repertoire consists of all the jokes and routines he has polished and perfected.

The word comes from theater, where companies kept a repertoire of plays they could rotate through, performing a different show each night. Today, musicians spend years building their repertoires, adding new pieces as they master them. A violinist preparing for a big audition will carefully choose pieces from her repertoire that showcase her best skills.

The word has expanded beyond performance. Someone might say a chef has an impressive repertoire of recipes, or that a soccer player has a wide repertoire of moves and techniques she can deploy during a game. In these cases, repertoire means the full range of skills or methods someone has developed and can use confidently.