rendition
noun
David SavoldAndrew Amelinckx 
Did you know?
When a singer performs their rendition of someone else's song, or a chef adds a few twists to someone else’s recipe to concoct their own unique rendition, each is—in a sense—returning: returning to something old in order to create something new. Fittingly, the word rendition, which has been part of English since at least the early 1600s, traces back ultimately to the Latin verb reddere, meaning "to return." Reddere is also the ancestor of the English verb render, whose many meanings include "to give a performance of" and "to give up or yield." Although render took a different path from reddere than did rendition, it's perhaps no surprise that the latter fundamentally means "an act or result of rendering something," and may be applied to everything from a performance, depiction, or translation of something, to a surrender (surrender being another reddere descendent), as in "fugitives awaiting rendition to a neighboring state."
Examples of rendition in a Sentence
Marina Watts, People.com, 22 May 2025
As Hay playfully commented, the Opry offered a stark contrast to other highbrow programs populating the airwaves, swapping symphonies and arias for jaunty renditions of old Anglo-Celtic, European and African-American ballads played on the fiddle, banjo and guitar.
—Lindsay Kusiak, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 May 2025
North County Bugles Across America is partnering with Stater Bros. Markets to host a bugler to play a live rendition of taps after a moment of silence at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day at some Stater Bros. locations, paying tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice serving the country.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 May 2025
Last year's design in honor of the Boston Marathon was a success as the team sported yellow jerseys, and the 2025 rendition could prove to be the best Red Sox City Connect uniforms yet.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rendition
Cite this Entry
“Rendition.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rendition. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
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