reclaim

[ ri-kleym ]
See synonyms for reclaim on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to bring (uncultivated areas or wasteland) into a condition for cultivation or other use.

  2. to recover (substances) in a pure or usable form from refuse, discarded articles, etc.

  1. to bring back to a preferable manner of living, sound principles, ideas, etc.

  2. to tame.

verb (used without object)
  1. to protest; object.

noun
  1. reclamation: beyond reclaim.

Origin of reclaim

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; (verb) Middle English recla(i)men, from Old French reclamer (tonic stem reclaim-), from Latin reclāmāre “to cry out against,” equivalent to re- + clāmāre “to claim”; (noun) Middle English reclaim(e), from Old French reclaim, reclam, derivative of reclamer; see re-, claim

synonym study For reclaim

2. See recover.

Other words for reclaim

Other words from reclaim

  • re·claim·a·ble, adjective
  • re·claim·er, noun
  • non·re·claim·a·ble, adjective
  • un·re·claim·a·ble, adjective

Words that may be confused with reclaim

Other definitions for re-claim (2 of 2)

re-claim
[ ree-kleym ]

verb (used with object)
  1. to claim or demand the return or restoration of, as a right, possession, etc.

  2. to claim again.

Origin of re-claim

2
1400–50; late Middle English. See re-, claim

Words that may be confused with re-claim

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use reclaim in a sentence

  • He was anxious to re-claim acquaintance, but though civil she was not effusive.

    Fifty-One Years of Victorian Life | Margaret Elizabeth Leigh Child-Villiers, Countess of Jersey

British Dictionary definitions for reclaim

reclaim

/ (rɪˈkleɪm) /


verb(tr)
  1. to claim back: to reclaim baggage

  2. to convert (desert, marsh, waste ground, etc) into land suitable for growing crops

  1. to recover (useful substances) from waste products

  2. to convert (someone) from sin, folly, vice, etc

  3. falconry to render (a hawk or falcon) tame

noun
  1. the act of reclaiming or state of being reclaimed

Origin of reclaim

1
C13: from Old French réclamer, from Latin reclāmāre to cry out, protest, from re- + clāmāre to shout

Derived forms of reclaim

  • reclaimable, adjective
  • reclaimant or reclaimer, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012