recurrent
Americanadjective
-
that recurs; occurring or appearing again, especially repeatedly or periodically.
- Synonyms:
- intermittent, persistent, repeated
-
Anatomy. turned back so as to run in a reverse direction, as a nerve, artery, branch, etc.
adjective
-
happening or tending to happen again or repeatedly
-
anatomy (of certain nerves, branches of vessels, etc) turning back, so as to run in the opposite direction
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of recurrent
1590–1600; < Latin recurrent- (stem of recurrēns ), present participle of recurrere to run back, equivalent to recurr ( ere ) ( see recur) + -ent- -ent
Explanation
Do you dream again and again that you are flying? If so, you could say that you have a recurrent dream of flight. Recurrent means something that happens repeatedly. The word recurrent comes from a Latin word meaning "to return or come back." A recurrent dream, good or bad, keeps coming back. You'll hear this word used often about abstract things like dreams, thoughts, and in literature, themes. For instance, the theme of a motherless child finding its way in the world is recurrent in pop culture and literature.
Vocabulary lists containing recurrent
Make a Run for It: Cur, Curs
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"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
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List 3
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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.
Recurrent consumer spending on digital items, such as in-game microtransactions and add-on content, climbed 12% and now accounts for 81% of all revenue.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
Up to 500,000 EVs are expected to come onto the used market in 2026, potentially driving prices even lower, according to Recurrent.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 6, 2026
The Tillbridge project is a joint venture between renewable energy developers Tribus Clean Energy and Recurrent Energy.
From BBC • Oct. 14, 2025
Recurrent courses of antibiotics for such a highly prevalent condition are of significant concern with antimicrobial resistance being a leading public health threat.
From Science Daily • Apr. 4, 2024
Habitual or Recurrent Dislocation.—Cases are occasionally met with in which the shoulder-joint shows a marked tendency to be dislocated from causes altogether insufficient to produce displacement under ordinary circumstances.
From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Miles, Alexander
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.
