reclamation
Americannoun
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the reclaiming of desert, marshy, or submerged areas or other wasteland for cultivation or other use.
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the act or process of reclaiming.
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the state of being reclaimed.
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the process or industry of deriving usable materials from waste, by-products, etc.
noun
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the conversion of desert, marsh, or other waste land into land suitable for cultivation
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the recovery of useful substances from waste products
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the act of reclaiming or state of being reclaimed
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of reclamation
1525–35, in sense “a protest”; < Middle French < Latin reclāmātiōn- (stem of reclāmātiō ) crying out against, equivalent to reclāmāt ( us ) (past participle of reclāmāre; see reclaim) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Reclamation is the act of returning something to a former, better state. Land reclamation might involve razing a strip mall and planting crops. Reclamation is the noun form of the verb to reclaim. Most people involved in reclamation want to reclaim something out of a sense of moral or environmental duty. Since re- means "again," it makes sense that a reclamation involves restoring something to its former glory, especially something that has gone to the dogs. Anything that's fallen on hard times is a good candidate for reclamation.
Vocabulary lists containing reclamation
East Asia - Middle School
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East Asia - High School
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Natural Resources and the Environment - Introductory
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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.
Then they went straight to work changing his arsenal, bringing their newest reclamation project to the laboratory that has been reshaping the trajectory of pitchers’ careers for years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
Malhotra said in a statement posted on Instagram that it feels like a reclamation.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
They will be shown Tuvalu's land reclamation efforts.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
It received major updates in the 1950s, and is the largest water reclamation plant of its kind west of the Mississippi River, according to LASAN.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
We were expected to use our suits' reclamation systems for that.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
