What does "recur" mean?
Of an event, situation, etc.: to appear or happen again, especially repeatedly.
Recur
/ɹɪˈkɜː/ verb
verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Of an event, situation, etc.: to appear or happen again, especially repeatedly.
- Grammar: recur is listed as verb.
- Nearest alternatives: repeat, alternate, apply, be here again.
- Useful contrasts: cease, digress, end.
- Usage evidence: Next year we'll recur to this issue.
How to use "recur"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "recur" 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 "recur" 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 "recur" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "recur" 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 "recur" is acting as 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 "repeat" 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 "recur", 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
Verb
- 1 Of an event, situation, etc.: to appear or happen again, especially repeatedly. intransitive
"The theme of the prodigal son recurs later in the third act."
- 2 happen or occur again wordnet
- 3 Of an event, situation, etc.: to appear or happen again, especially repeatedly.; Of a disease or symptom: to happen again, especially repeatedly or after a remission or an apparent recovery. intransitive
"The bullet had grazed the optic nerve. […] The oculist had warned him that the trouble might recur, that he ought to have remained under observation. Well, it had recurred about four months ago."
- 4 return in thought or speech to something wordnet
- 5 Of a memory, thought, etc.: to come to the mind again. intransitive
"The Saturday at night before he ſuffered, he dream'd his chaine vvas brought to the Counter gate, that the next day being Sunday, he ſhould be had to Nevvgate and burned at Smithfield the Munday enſuing, vvhich after many frightfull avvakings, ſtill recurring to his troubled fancy, he aroſe, and communicating vvhat he had dreamed to his Chamber-fellovv, fell to his old exerciſe of reading and praying."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 have recourse to wordnet
- 7 To speak, think, or write about something again; to go back or return to a memory, a subject, etc. dated, intransitive
"But firſt I ſhall recurre, and give a touch upon the nature of Gravity."
- 8 Followed by to, or (Scotland, obsolete) on or upon: to have recourse to someone or something for assistance, support, etc.; to appeal, to resort, to turn to. archaic, intransitive
"[I]f his Grace vvere minded, or vvould intend to do a thing inique or injuſt, there vvere no need to recurr unto the Pope's Holineſe for doing thereof."
- 9 Synonym of recurse (“to execute a procedure recursively”). intransitive
- 10 Often in the form recurring following a number: of a numeral or group of numerals in a decimal fraction: to repeat indefinitely. intransitive
"One-third can be written in decimal form as 0.3333 …, or point three-recurring."
- 11 Followed by into or to: to go to a place again; to return. intransitive, obsolete
"[H]er conſtancy beganne to ſtagger, and her honeſty had enough to doe, recurring to her eyes to containe them, leſt they ſhould giue any demonſtration of the amorous compaſsion vvhich Lotharios vvordes and teares had ſtirred in her breaſt."
- 12 Followed by into or to: To go back to doing an activity, or to using a thing; to return. intransitive, obsolete
"I contrived for ſome time to carry on ſomething like a converſation vvith this vvoman, but vvas ſoon glad to put an end to it by recurring to my bottle."
- 13 Followed by to: to go to a place; to resort. intransitive, obsolete, rare
"[T]he City grevv very populous, many recurring thither from all parts of Attica, for liberty and ſecurity, […]"
- 14 Followed by from: to move or run back from something; to recede, to withdraw. intransitive, obsolete, rare
"If half the latitude of the firſt vvave be an aliquant part of the ſtring, after the motion has been propagated to the fartheſt extremity, there vvill be a nevv ſeries of leſs vvaves, recurring in a contrary direction."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Next year we'll recur to this issue."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "recur"?
Common synonyms include: repeat, alternate, apply, be here again, circle, come again.
How do you use "recur" in a sentence?
Next year we'll recur to this issue.
How do you pronounce "recur"?
Pronounced /ɹɪˈkɜː/.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin recurrō (“to hurry or run back; to return, revert”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘back, backwards’) + currō (“to hasten, hurry; to move, travel; to run”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”)). cognates * Anglo-Norman recurre, recorre (“to have recourse to”) * Catalan recórrer * Italian ricorrer * Old French recourir (Middle French recourir; modern French recourir (“to have recourse to; to run again; to run back”)) * Old Occitan recorre * Portuguese recorrer * Spanish recorrer