recourse

American  

[ree-kawrs, -kohrs, ri-kawrs, -kohrs] / ˈri kɔrs, -koʊrs, rɪˈkɔrs, -ˈkoʊrs /

noun

1. access or resort to a person or thing for help or protection.

   to have recourse to the courts for justice.

2. a person or thing resorted to for help or protection.

3. the right to collect from a maker or endorser of a negotiable instrument. The endorser may add the words “without recourse” on the instrument, thereby transferring the instrument without assuming any liability.

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recourse British  

/ rɪˈkɔːs /

noun

1. the act of resorting to a person, course of action, etc, in difficulty or danger (esp in the phrase have recourse to )

2. a person, organization, or course of action that is turned to for help, protection, etc

3. the right to demand payment, esp from the drawer or endorser of a bill of exchange or other negotiable instrument when the person accepting it fails to pay

4. a qualified endorsement on such a negotiable instrument, by which the endorser protects himself or herself from liability to subsequent holders

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Etymology

Origin of recourse

1350–1400; Middle English recours < Old French < Late Latin recursus, Latin: return, retreat, noun use of past participle of recurrere to run back; see recur

Explanation

Recourse is a source of help. If you're failing trigonometry in spite of studying until your brain hurts, you may have no recourse but to hire a tutor. Recourse comes from the Latin word recursus, meaning “to run back or retreat.” People seek recourse from such difficulties as debt, illness and legal woes, so you can think of recourse as the words "retreating from curses" squished together. For the record, though, the cursus in recursus means course, not curse. Actually, no one knows where the word curse comes from. There may be some connection between cursus and curses, but then again, there may not be.

Example Sentences

Smaller suppliers in particular have little recourse to recoup costs when automakers cancel a vehicle program and stop buying parts, Karol said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

He threatened to seek legal recourse if Bianco does not halt his investigation.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

And it argued that even as Costco, along with scores of other businesses, seeks tariff-related refunds for themselves in court, the consumers who ultimately shouldered those higher prices had no clear recourse.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 12, 2026

Many of the people who contacted the BBC also said they felt they had no recourse to justice for side effects they say they weren't properly warned about.

From BBC • Feb. 21, 2026

Madison’s more judicious arguments, published as the Virginia Resolutions, were circulating in the national press and achieving the same goal—condemning the Sedition Act but without recourse to nullification.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

• remedy