Repeating

Repeating is an adjective describing something that happens again, in succession, or occurs with regular recurrence. It can refer to patterns that recur over time or space, or to actions performed again, often for emphasis, reinforcement, or structure. The noun form is repetition; the verb phrase is to repeat.

In mathematics, a repeating decimal is a decimal representation in which a finite set of digits repeats indefinitely after some initial portion. For example, 0.333… and 0.121212… are repeating decimals. Repeating patterns also occur in sequences and functions with a defined period, meaning the sequence repeats after a fixed interval.

In linguistics, reduplication is a morphological process that repeats all or part of a word to change meaning or grammatical function, such as aspect, plurality, or intensity. Some languages use full-word repeats, others use partial reduplication.

In music and rhetoric, repetition refers to the reuse of any musical motif, phrase, or rhythmic cell to create structure, unity, and familiarity. Repetition interacts with variation to maintain interest. In literature, recurring phrases or images contribute to theme and cohesion.

In computing and programming, repetition is implemented through loops and iteration constructs such as for and while statements, enabling a set of instructions to execute multiple times based on a condition.