Resets

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Restores something to its original condition or starting configuration ; begins a process or event again from the beginning
2. Returns a device, system, or setting to its default state ; restarts an activity or sequence as if beginning fresh
3. Reverts an item or situation to how it was initially ; initiates a fresh start for an operation or procedure

Etymology: "Set" is the causative of "sit." In Old English, "settan" meant to make something sit, so to set a thing was to place it where it would stay. Adding the prefix "re-," from Latin, which meant "back" or "again," gives the sense of putting something back where it belongs. The sense of returning something to its starting state is what makes the verb useful for machines. A device is "reset" when its settings are wiped or returned to the factory configuration, so it behaves as it did when first switched on. The same idea applies to a process that is begun anew, as when a game, a count, or a clock starts over from zero.

Synonyms: restarts, restores, reinitializes, revamps, resets

Antonyms: locks, fixes, stabilizes, maintains, holds