26984 words

redeem

10 definitions • 15 examples
1
to make something or someone seem less bad:

Examples:

A poor game was redeemed in the second half by a superb performance from Anthony Edwards.
He was an hour late, but he redeemed himself in her eyes by giving her a huge bunch of flowers.
She took me to see a really dull film, the only redeeming feature of which (= the only thing which prevented it from being completely bad) was the soundtrack.
2
to get something back:

Examples:

She managed to save enough money to redeem her jewellery from the pawn shop.
3
to exchange a piece of paper representing a particular amount of money for that amount of money or for goods to this value:

Examples:

I've never had any issues redeeming coupons there.
4
to carry out a promise or pay back a debt:

Examples:

The amount required to redeem the mortgage was £358,587.
5
(in Christianity) to free people from sin:

Examples:

"Jesus," said the priest, "saved and redeemed mankind by taking our sins upon himself."
6
to improve yourself, or to take action to improve the way other people think of you or something you have done:

Examples:

After his poor performance in the golf tournament two weeks before, he was determined to redeem himself by playing well.
Very few TV talk shows have any redeeming values (= have good qualities that make their bad qualities less important).
7
to buy back something, or to exchange something for money or for goods or services:

Examples:

You can redeem the bond at any time, but you will lose some interest.
8
to exchange shares or bonds for cash:

Examples:

Class B Shares are subject to a sales charge if they are redeemed within six years of purchase.
Private investors will have to pay their own dealing fees to redeem their holdings.
9
to pay back a loan:

Examples:

redeem a loan/debt/mortgage
10
to use a coupon (= piece of paper used to buy goods at a lower price), points from a credit card, etc. to buy something:

Examples:

be redeemed against sth Coupons, either in or on the pack, may be redeemed against future purchases of the product.
redeem sth for sth New legislation would enable consumers to redeem gift certificates for cash once their value falls below $10.

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