What does "reset" mean?
The act of resetting to the initial state.
Reset
/ɹiːˈsɛt/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The act of resetting to the initial state.
- Grammar: reset is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: baseline configuration, bed, blank record, broadcast.
- Useful contrasts: french changer, starting value, active.
- Usage evidence: You just need to reset the breaker. Hurry up!
How to use "reset"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "reset" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "reset" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "reset" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "reset" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "reset" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "baseline configuration" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "reset", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The act of resetting to the initial state. also, figuratively
"A reset halts whatever is taking place on the bus and prepares devices for the beginning of a new communication cycle. A reset begins when the master pulls the bus low for a period greater than 480 μs."
- 2 The crime of knowingly and dishonestly receiving stolen goods, or harbouring an outlaw.
"In early times it was common to charge the reset of property taken by robbery as reset of theft. But in later practice reset of property taken by robbery has been frequently libelled and found relevant (1)."
- 3 A button that resets a device, often a computer.
- 4 device for resetting instruments or controls wordnet
- 5 The act of setting to zero.
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 A device, such as a button or switch, for resetting something.
- 7 That which is reset; printed matter set up again.
- 8 The cleaning and tidying of one's home. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy69x9wl2no
Verb
- 1 To set back to the initial state.
"Then there came a reg'lar terror of a sou'wester same as you don't get one summer in a thousand, and blowed the shanty flat and ripped about half of the weir poles out of the sand. We spent consider'ble money getting 'em reset, and then a swordfish got into the pound and tore the nets all to slathers, right in the middle of the squiteague season."
- 2 To receive and hide (stolen goods, or a criminal, etc.)
"Criminal resetting of property shall not be limited to the receiving of property taken by theft or robbery, but shall extend to the receiving of property appropriated by breach of trust and embezzlement and by falsehood, fraud and wilful imposition."
- 3 adjust again after an initial failure wordnet
- 4 To set to zero.
- 5 set to zero wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To adjust; to set or position differently. transitive
"He turned and steered his course toward some lights clustered at the end of the street. They proved farther away than he had anticipated, and after a long quest he came to the conclusion that his eyes had been mysteriously removed from their proper places and had been reset on either side of his head like those of a bird."
- 7 set anew wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"You just need to reset the breaker. Hurry up!"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "reset"?
Common synonyms include: baseline configuration, bed, blank record, broadcast, bused, busses.
How do you use "reset" in a sentence?
You just need to reset the breaker. Hurry up!
How do you pronounce "reset"?
Pronounced /ɹiːˈsɛt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From re- + set.
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Middle Scots resett, from Early Scots reset, from Anglo-Norman recet (noun), recetter (verb), from Latin receptus (noun), receptāre (verb). Compare receipt.
Etymology 3
From reset.