recycle
Americanverb (used with object)
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to treat or process (used or waste materials) so as to make suitable for reuse.
recycling paper to save trees.
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to alter or adapt for new use without changing the essential form or nature of.
The old factory is being recycled as a theater.
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to use again in the original form or with minimal alteration.
The governor recycled some speeches from his early days.
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to cause to pass through a cycle again.
to recycle laundry through a washing machine.
verb (used without object)
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to pass through a cycle again; repeat a process from the beginning.
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to undergo reuse or renewal; be subject to or suitable for further use, activity, etc..
The industry will recycle and become profitable once more.
noun
verb
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to pass (a substance) through a system again for further treatment or use
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to reclaim (packaging or products with a limited useful life) for further use
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to institute a different cycle of processes or events in (a machine, system, etc)
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to repeat (a series of operations)
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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recyclabilitynoun
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recyclernoun
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recyclistnoun
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nonrecyclableadjective
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recyclableadjective
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unrecycledadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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recyclesimple
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recyclessimple
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have recycledperfect
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has recycledperfect
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are recyclingprogressive
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am recyclingprogressive
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is recyclingprogressive
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have been recyclingperfect progressive
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has been recyclingperfect progressive
Past
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recycledsimple
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had recycledperfect
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was recyclingprogressive
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were recyclingprogressive
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had been recyclingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of recycle
Explanation
When you recycle something, you process it so it can be used again. You might recycle an old tire and make it into a snazzy black knapsack with some very cool skid marks. The prefix re- means again, and when you recycle something, you process it for another cycle of use. The phrase "reduce, reuse, recycle" gives you three ways to prevent waste. When you recycle plastic bottles, they’re melted down and made into new bottles or even furniture or clothing. You might do some creative recycling and turn your old textbooks into a coffee table. When you have your washing machine repeat the wash or rinse cycle, that’s a different recycle.
Vocabulary lists containing recycle
Natural Resources and the Environment - Introductory
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Earth Science - Middle School
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Earth Science: Natural Resources and the Environment
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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.
Management had a short-lived operation outside of Houston called Natura designed to recycle plastic film that can’t be handled in a typical recycling facility.
From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026
According to Marek, millipedes were among the early pioneers of life on land, helping recycle nutrients by feeding on decaying organic material in some of the first terrestrial ecosystems.
From Science Daily • Jun. 14, 2026
By the 2030s, however, the company hopes to separate some of its rare earths in Brazil and recycle magnet waste generated during manufacturing.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
Rainwater is harvested from the greenhouse roofs and in response to changing weather patterns, the company are now beginning to recycle that water, and the nutrients it contains, for secondary use.
From BBC • May 14, 2026
My father always says she only works to feed our family’s book addiction and that we’d be further ahead financially if she collected aluminum cans from the side of the freeway to recycle.
From "Liar, Liar" by Gary Paulsen
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.
