recurring
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of recurring
Explanation
Something recurring happens over and over. When you have a recurring cough, it could be something serious, like bronchitis. This is a word for things that keep popping up or returning, like flowers are a recurring subject of the artist Georgia O’Keefe’s paintings. Recurring lateness is a habit your teacher or boss won’t tolerate. Lots of people have recurring health problems, such as back pain or sore knees. A guest character on a TV show who shows up once in awhile is a recurring character: they just keep coming back.
Vocabulary lists containing recurring
List 8
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Number the Stars
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Vocabulary to Describe Literary Devices
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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.
In 2020, she had a recurring role on the Paramount show Yellowstone.
From BBC • May 7, 2026
AppLovin is one of the companies that have been swept up in a broad-based, recurring selloff in software stocks.
From Barron's • May 6, 2026
One of the recurring tropes in “The Things We Never Say” is of a younger Artie spying his sister Maria eating confectioners’ sugar.
From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026
A representative for Vivrelle said the company is on track to surpass $120 million in annual recurring revenue this year, reflecting approximately 200% year-over-year growth since 2025.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026
Again, again—and it was not the ear that heard the pulsing rhythm, it was the midriff; the wail and clang of those recurring harmonies haunted, not the mind, but the yearning bowels of compassion.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
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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.