noun, verb ·3 syllables ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The act of capturing again.

   "The recapture of the escaped prisoner made the news."

2. 2
   the act of taking something back wordnet
3. 3
   That which is captured back; a prize retaken.
4. 4
   a legal seizure by the government of profits beyond a fixed amount wordnet
5. 5
   The retroactive collection of taxes that were not collectible at the time.

Verb

1. 1
   To capture something for a second or subsequent time, especially after a loss.

   "The warden hoped to recapture the escaped prisoners before they reached the town."

2. 2
   capture again wordnet
3. 3
   To capture an opponent's piece immediately after it has captured on the same square.
4. 4
   take up anew wordnet
5. 5
   experience anew wordnet

Show 1 more definition

6. 6
   take back by force, as after a battle wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

bring backbring to mindcall backcall to mindcall upconjure up

Example

More examples

"They hoped they could recapture the fort."

Etymology

From re- + capture.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.