What does "reclaim" mean?
The calling back of a hawk.
Reclaim
noun, verb
noun, verb ·2 syllables ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The calling back of a hawk.
- Grammar: reclaim is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abet, aid, amend, assist.
- Useful contrasts: degrade, diminish, discard.
- Usage evidence: Some day man will reclaim the desert for agriculture.
How to use "reclaim"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "reclaim" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "reclaim" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "reclaim" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "reclaim" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "reclaim" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abet" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "reclaim", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The calling back of a hawk. countable, obsolete, uncountable
- 2 The bringing back or recalling of a person; the fetching of someone back. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"The louing couple need no reskew feare, / But leasure had, and libertie to frame / Their purpost flight, free from all mens reclame […]."
- 3 An effort to take something back, to reclaim something. countable, uncountable
- 4 Clipping of baggage reclaim. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, countable, uncountable
- 5 Material recovered from something that has already been used. countable, uncountable
"Is it okay to smoke cannabis reclaim?"
Verb
- 1 To return land to a suitable condition for use. transitive
- 2 overcome the wildness of; make docile and tractable wordnet
- 3 To obtain useful products from waste; to recycle. transitive
- 4 make useful again; transform from a useless or uncultivated state wordnet
- 5 To claim something back; to repossess. transitive
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 bring, lead, or force to abandon a wrong or evil course of life, conduct, and adopt a right one wordnet
- 7 To return someone to a proper course of action, or correct an error; to reform. dated, transitive
"His Highneſſe pleaſure is that he ſhould liue, And be reclaim’d with princely lenitie."
- 8 reuse (materials from waste products) wordnet
- 9 To tame or domesticate a wild animal. archaic, transitive
"an eagle well reclaimed"
- 10 claim back wordnet
- 11 To call back from flight or disorderly action; to call to, for the purpose of subduing or quieting. archaic, transitive
"They were the head-strong horses, who hurried Octavius […] along, and were deaf to his reclaiming them."
- 12 To cry out in opposition or contradiction; to exclaim against anything; to contradict; to take exceptions. archaic, transitive
"True it is he was very wild in his youth till God (the best Chymick who can fix quicksilver it self) gratiously reclaim'd him"
- 13 To draw back; to give way. obsolete, rare
"Yet would he not perswaded be for ought, Ne from his currish will a whit reclame."
- 14 To appeal from the Lord Ordinary to the inner house of the Court of Session. Scotland, intransitive
- 15 To bring back a term into acceptable usage, usually of a slur, and usually by the group that was once targeted by that slur.
"Once a term of homophobic abuse, the term “queer” has been reclaimed as a marker for some gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT), and other marginalized sexual identities."
Example
"Some day man will reclaim the desert for agriculture."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "reclaim"?
Common synonyms include: abet, aid, amend, assist, avail, bail out.
How do you use "reclaim" in a sentence?
Some day man will reclaim the desert for agriculture.
Etymology
From Middle English reclaymen, recleymen, reclamen, from Anglo-Norman reclamer (noun reclaim and Middle French reclamer (noun reclaim), from Latin reclāmō, reclāmāre. Equivalent to re- + claim.