Resume or resumé?
resume is a verb meaning “To start (something) again that has been stopped or paused from the point at…”; resumé is a noun meaning “Alternative spelling of resume (“a summary, especially of employment history”)”. Wiktionary gives them as spellings of the same word. Use resume as a verb and resumé as a noun (resumé is also a verb: “To start (something) again that has been stopped or paused…”). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) resume is about as common as resumé.
What is the difference between resume and resumé?
| resume | resumé | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun, verb |
| Meaning | To start (something) again that has been stopped or paused from the point at which it was stopped or paused; continue, carry on To start again after an interruption or pause A summary or synopsis | To start (something) again that has been stopped or paused from the point at which it was stopped or paused; continue, carry on To start again after an interruption or pause A summary or synopsis |
| Example | On one occasion Mrs. Val Gwepton, who was not blessed with the most reposeful of temperaments, fairly let herself go, and gave Mrs.… | On one occasion Mrs. Val Gwepton, who was not blessed with the most reposeful of temperaments, fairly let herself go, and gave Mrs.… |
| Forms | resumes, resuming, resumed | résumés resumes resumés |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɹɛz.(j)ʊˌmeɪ/ /ɹɪˈzjuː.meɪ/ /ˈɹɛz.ə.meɪ/ | /ˈɹɛz.(j)ʊˌmeɪ/ /ɹɪˈzjuː.meɪ/ /ˈɹɛz.ə.meɪ/ |
| In writing | 13 times per million words | 13 times per million words |
Sources: resume and resumé in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of resume and resumé
resume
- 1
Alternative spelling of resume (“a summary, especially of employment history”)
On one occasion Mrs. Val Gwepton, who was not blessed with the most reposeful of temperaments, fairly let herself go, and gave Mrs. Pentherby a vivid and truthful résumé of her…
- 2
To start (something) again that has been stopped or paused from the point at which it was stopped or paused; continue, carry on
We will resume this discussion tomorrow at nine
- 3
A summary or synopsis
- 4
Alternative spelling of resume (“summary, especially of employment history”)
- 5
To start again after an interruption or pause
Normal service has resumed
- 6
AustraliaCanadaUSA summary or account of education and employment experiences and qualifications; a curriculum vitae (often for presentation to a potential future employer when applying for a job)
- 7
Alternative spelling of résumé
resumé
- 1
Alternative spelling of resume (“a summary, especially of employment history”)
On one occasion Mrs. Val Gwepton, who was not blessed with the most reposeful of temperaments, fairly let herself go, and gave Mrs. Pentherby a vivid and truthful résumé of her…
- 2
To start (something) again that has been stopped or paused from the point at which it was stopped or paused; continue, carry on
We will resume this discussion tomorrow at nine
- 3
A summary or synopsis
- 4
Alternative spelling of resume (“summary, especially of employment history”)
- 5
To start again after an interruption or pause
Normal service has resumed
- 6
AustraliaCanadaUSA summary or account of education and employment experiences and qualifications; a curriculum vitae (often for presentation to a potential future employer when applying for a job)
- 7
Alternative spelling of résumé
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, resume or resumé?
resume appears 13 times per million words; resumé 13 times per million words.
resume 13 times per million wordsresumé 13 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search resume vs resumé?
“resume vs resumé” is searched about 110 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“resumé vs resume”, “resume or resumé”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.