resorted

Resorted is the past tense and past participle of the verb resort. It describes an act of turning to a resource, option, or destination for help, advantage, or entertainment. The phrase to resort to is an idiomatic expression used across formal and informal contexts, often signaling recourse when other options have failed or are deemed unsatisfactory. The sense can carry neutral, positive, or negative connotations depending on the situation.

Usage and meanings

- Recourse or last resort: “The government resorted to sanctions after negotiations stalled.” “Citizens resorted to improvisation when supplies ran short.”

- General turn to an option: “They resorted to borrowing money to cover the gap.” In this sense, resort emphasizes choosing an available method rather than a preferred one.

- Destination for recreation (less common when using the participle form): the verb can appear with a destination meaning “to visit a resort,” as in “they resorted to a seaside resort for their vacation,” though more often the noun resort is used for the place.

Nuance and style

Resorted often implies that the chosen course was not ideal but was deemed necessary or pragmatic. In legal, political, or economic writing, it frequently appears in discussions of policy responses, remedies, or contingency plans. The related noun resort denotes the destination or means itself rather than the act of turning to it.

Related terms include recourse, remedy, last resort, and to a lesser extent resort as a vacation place. The form resorted is followed by to in sentences describing the action taken.