recur

American  

[ri-kur] / rɪˈkɜr /

verb (used without object)

• recurs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• recurred,
  past participle,  past
• recurring
  present participle

1. to occur again, as an event, experience, etc.

2. to return to the mind.

   The idea kept recurring.

3. to come up again for consideration, as a question.

4. to have recourse.

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recur British  

/ rɪˈkɜː /

verb

1. to happen again, esp at regular intervals

2. (of a thought, idea, etc) to come back to the mind

3. (of a problem, etc) to come up again

4. maths (of a digit or group of digits) to be repeated an infinite number of times at the end of a decimal fraction

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• recurring
  adjective
• recurringly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• recurring
  present
• recurred
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• recur
  simple
• recurs
  simple
• have recurred
  perfect
• has recurred
  perfect
• am recurring
  progressive
• are recurring
  progressive
• is recurring
  progressive
• have been recurring
  perfect progressive
• has been recurring
  perfect progressive

Past

• recurred
  simple
• had recurred
  perfect
• was recurring
  progressive
• were recurring
  progressive
• had been recurring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will recur
  simple
• will have recurred
  perfect
• will be recurring
  progressive
• will have been recurring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of recur

1610–20; earlier: to recede < Latin recurrere to run back, equivalent to re- re- + currere to run

Explanation

Have you ever had the same crazy dream night after night? If so, you know that dreams can recur, meaning they repeat, or happen again. The verb recur is used to describe something that happens over and over, whether it’s an injury, an argument, or a character who pops up from time to time on a television show. Recur often describes an event that happens repeatedly, but it can also be used to describe something, such as an image or a memory, that for some reason just keeps popping back up in your mind, like self-doubt that recurs every time you worry about something.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

recur recurs recurred recurring

But “Kiki” holds several themes that recur in Miyazaki’s work.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026

“I got the audition last year, about April,” Callan recalled, “just to recur. And I said, ‘This is silly, they’re not going to cast a Los Angeles actor to go recur in Massachusetts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

Even if there is another pandemic, this mess won’t recur.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026

"By targeting N4BP2 or the pathways it activates, we may be able to limit the genomic chaos that allows tumors to adapt, recur and become drug-resistant."

From Science Daily ● Feb. 16, 2026

The pattern would recur over and over, but there was an important exception.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Triple-negative breast cancer recurs and spreads after an average of around 2½ years, compared with five years for other breast cancers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

It's a theme that recurs on subsequent tracks - perhaps suggesting that BTS were wary about dipping their toes back into the choppy waters of fame.

From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2026

If the same pattern recurs, employment gains last month could be stronger than expected.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 7, 2026

That conflict between “progress” and “tradition” has never been resolved, and recurs in every generation.

From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2025

The pyramid shape recurs throughout history and in diverse cultures, many of which have thought the shape itself had magic powers.

From "The Annotated Mona Lisa" by Carol Strickland and John Boswell

Insurance company Allianz modeled how countries would fare if the five hottest years each experienced between 2014 and 2024 recurred in succession.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

The Verdie role recurred over the nine seasons the show ran.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2025

As someone who has always had a masochistic streak, finding out that these sequences of cars speeding down darkened paths recurred in Lynch’s other works both delighted and horrified me.

From Salon ● Jan. 25, 2025

It’s a thematic mix that has recurred, at varying intensities, throughout Lemon’s influential but branding-resistant career.

From New York Times ● Nov. 15, 2024

Everything that was not suffered to the end and finally concluded, recurred, and the same sorrows were undergone.

From "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse

Another recurring market fear – the “SaaSpocalypse” – loomed large.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

According to the researchers, this recurring pattern illustrates the experimental nature of evolution.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026

Some hospitals that provide emergency medical services but not trauma care, including Catalina Island Health and MLK hospital, are pushing for the county to help them by providing recurring disbursements of Measure B funds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Net dollar retention rate, a measure of recurring revenue retained from existing customers over 12 months, was 136% at the end of the second quarter, thanks to customers purchasing additional licenses and AI credit add-ons.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

‘Maybe it’s recurring. I thought of ‘recurring’ because my favourite number is 3.3 recurring.

From "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd

Related Words

• persist
• reappear