recover
Americanverb (used with object)
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recovers,
present (3rd person singular)
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recovered,
past participle, past
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recovering
present participle
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to get back or regain (something lost or taken away).
to recover a stolen watch.
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to make up for or make good (loss, damage, etc., to oneself ).
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to regain the strength, composure, balance, or the like, of (oneself ).
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Law.
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to obtain by judgment in a court of law, or by legal proceedings.
to recover damages for a wrong.
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to acquire title to through judicial process.
to recover land.
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to reclaim from a bad state, practice, etc.
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to regain (a substance) in usable form, as from refuse material or from a waste product or by-product of manufacture; reclaim.
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Military. to return (a weapon) to a previously held position in the manual of arms.
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Football. to gain or regain possession of (a fumble).
They recovered the ball on their own 20-yard line.
verb (used without object)
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recovers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
recovered,
past participle, past
-
recovering
present participle
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to regain health after being sick, wounded, or the like (often followed byfrom ).
to recover from an illness.
- Synonyms:
- rally, recuperate, mend, heal
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to regain a former and better state or condition.
The city soon recovered from the effects of the earthquake.
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to regain one's strength, composure, balance, etc.
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Law. to obtain a favorable judgment in a suit for something.
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Football. to gain or regain possession of a fumble.
The Giants recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.
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to make a recovery in fencing or rowing.
verb
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(tr) to find again or obtain the return of (something lost)
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to regain (loss of money, position, time, etc); recoup
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(of a person) to regain (health, spirits, composure, etc), as after illness, a setback, or a shock, etc
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to regain (a former and usually better condition)
industry recovered after the war
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law
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(tr) to gain (something) by the judgment of a court of law
to recover damages
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(intr) to succeed in a lawsuit
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(tr) to obtain (useful substances) from waste
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(intr) (in fencing, swimming, rowing, etc) to make a recovery
Synonym Usage
Recover, reclaim, retrieve are to regain literally or figuratively something or someone. To recover is to obtain again what one has lost possession of: to recover a stolen jewel. To reclaim is to bring back from error or wrongdoing, or from a rude or undeveloped state: to reclaim desert land by irrigation. To retrieve is to bring back or restore, especially something to its former, prosperous state: to retrieve one's fortune.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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recoversimple
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recoverssimple
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have recoveredperfect
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has recoveredperfect
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am recoveringprogressive
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are recoveringprogressive
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is recoveringprogressive
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have been recoveringperfect progressive
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has been recoveringperfect progressive
Past
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recoveredsimple
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had recoveredperfect
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was recoveringprogressive
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were recoveringprogressive
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had been recoveringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of recover
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English recoveren, from Middle French recoverer, from Latin recuperāre “to regain”; see origin at recuperate
Explanation
To recover something is to get it back. After you lose your watch, you might recover it from the wastebasket. The re- in recover is a clue that this word has "again" as part of its meaning. We can only recover things that we had before. Often, this word applies to health. Someone who is sick needs to recover — when they're totally recovered, they're all better. If the stock market crashes, it needs to recover — this happens when the market is healthier and money is flowing again. It's good to recover, but it means something bad happened in the first place.
Vocabulary lists containing recover
Stamp Act (1765)
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Essential English Vocabulary, List 5
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Word Generation Weekly - Series 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Hundreds of thousands of people remain under hosepipe bans across the country while water sources recover from the prolonged dry weather.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
For many people, what matters most is being able to get out of a chair without help, carry shopping home, climb the stairs and recover quickly after illness.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
“We pursued this case to ensure workplace protections have real meaning and to recover as much as possible for drivers.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Doctors found no link between the boy's condition and the measles-rubella vaccine, and he went on to fully recover, but by then his image had appeared in anti-vaccine videos viewed hundreds of thousands of times.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
With the help of their relatives, the family settled and began to recover from their ordeal, but within less than a year, tragedy struck again.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
“The Battle of Hengyang” recovers a military struggle and a family history—and part of a nation’s past its rulers ordered its people to forget.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Survivors are currently advised to stay on these drugs for life, even after their cancer treatment ends and their heart recovers.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
“Courage is fear that’s said its prayers, son,” Bernadette tells John as he recovers from having his path derailed by a familiar spoiler.
From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026
"We need God's grace to see if he recovers because it was bad," said the voice note shared with AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
After that first seizure at his sister's dinner table, he recovers almost immediately with no memory of the fit or any ill effect.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
He recovered to ninth by the end, immediately behind Fernando Alonso, who scored points for Aston Martin for only the third time this year after their strongest performance of the year.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
In just 30 years, the heavily thinned forest had not only recovered all the carbon removed during harvesting, but had also gained enough additional carbon to equal the increase seen in the unharvested controls.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026
The industry has recovered only about half of tariff-policy-related costs, a "sustained margin drag that is likely to weigh on supplier financials," according to a commentary from Deloitte accompanying the survey.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
Skinner passed for three touchdowns, intercepted a pass and returned it 54 yards for a touchdown and recovered Chaminade’s attempted onside kick to seal the win.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
His right foot recovered, but on his left foot gangrene had set in in the toes.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
International benchmark oil prices remain around $100 a barrel despite recovering exports, reflecting fears that renewed attacks could again curb flows and keep freight and security costs elevated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
Italian Sinner is recovering from a knee injury and has not played since beating Zverev in the final of Wimbledon in July.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
One headwind is a still-structurally weak oil outlook due to recovering Middle East supply, OPEC+ spare capacity and rising non-OPEC+ production, the analyst says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Global life expectancy is close to the levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic, but the outlook for years lived in good health is recovering more slowly, the WHO said Friday.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
He's recovering after having another tumor cut out of him.
From "Sunny" by Jason Reynolds
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
