recharge
Americanverb (used with object)
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to charge again with electricity.
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Informal. to refresh or restore; revitalize.
verb (used without object)
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to make a new charge, especially to attack again.
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Informal. to revive or restore energy, stamina, enthusiasm, etc.
noun
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an act or instance of recharging.
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Geology. the processes by which groundwater is absorbed into the zone of saturation.
verb
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to cause (an accumulator, capacitor, etc) to take up and store electricity again
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to revive or renew (one's energies) (esp in recharge one's batteries )
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rechargesimple
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rechargessimple
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have rechargedperfect
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has rechargedperfect
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am rechargingprogressive
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are rechargingprogressive
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is rechargingprogressive
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have been rechargingperfect progressive
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has been rechargingperfect progressive
Past
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rechargedsimple
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had rechargedperfect
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was rechargingprogressive
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were rechargingprogressive
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had been rechargingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of recharge
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English: “to reload (a vessel)”; see re-, charge
Explanation
When you recharge something, you bring it back to life or reenergize it. You might charge your cell phone in the morning and then recharge it later in the day. If you can charge your electronics (or provide them with electrical energy), you can also recharge them when that energy is depleted. In addition to your camera battery and laptop, sometimes you need to recharge yourself, or take a break so you can become energized again. Less commonly, recharge is used to mean "refill a glass," and the original meaning, in the fifteenth century, was "to reload a vessel."
Vocabulary lists containing recharge
Earth Science - Middle School
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Earth Science - High School
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Earth Science - 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.
See Examples For:
Intense rainfall may fall in the wrong locations, run off too quickly, or fail to recharge the systems that sustain the lakes.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
At the same time, Southern California cities have been investing in projects to capture stormwater and recharge groundwater as they seek to rely less on water imported from Northern California and the Colorado River.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
He reputedly then moved into a monastery for three months to recharge, taking only books and living without a phone or access to the internet.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
Instead, he must now reset and recharge to go again at Wimbledon next month.
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
It'll cut an hour off my total recharge time.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
That includes “extended range electric vehicles,” battery-powered cars that have an onboard generator, running on gas, that recharges batteries on the fly.
From Barron's ● Dec. 15, 2025
It runs 15-30 minutes on a full battery, depending on the speed, and recharges in 45 minutes to about 3 hours, depending on your charger.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2025
Regenerative braking in EVs, which recharges the battery, does not involve friction.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2025
“You’re going to have more short-term runoff leading to more floods and less snowpack that recharges the groundwater and the groundwater is ultimately what helps maintain stream flows.”
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 28, 2023
A little advertising by the service station man, stating that he sells radio batteries, and also recharges them should bring in: very profitable business.
From The Automobile Storage Battery Its Care And Repair by Witte, Otto A.
"It recharged her and made her feel better," McVey said.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
"It stores sunlight, and it can be recharged."
From Science Daily ● May 15, 2026
Something that stopped being effective suddenly emerges recharged and presto!
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
It wasn't quite the traditional sequence I’d expected, and left a touch of grit behind, but the massage itself was wonderful and the overall experience left me relaxed and recharged.
From Salon ● May 28, 2025
Although Geyer’s brief rest in Philadelphia had recharged his hopes, he now found them “fast dwindling away.”
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
At the maximum charging rate of 200 kW, recharging from 10-80% times out at 30 minutes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026
Russell lost that place because he hit the harvest limit early, which meant he was not recharging into the chicane so had less energy for the restart.
From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2026
Other agencies are recharging aquifers at dozens of sites across California and are building more facilities to replenish groundwater.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2026
The distance that electric trucks can travel without recharging can be drastically cut when towing heavy loads or operating in less ideal conditions, such as cold weather.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 29, 2025
“I’ll leave the keys with you. Can you bring them downstairs when you’re finished today? I think I need to rest my head at home. A little bit of recharging will do me good.”
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
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.
