recapture
Americanverb (used with object)
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recaptures,
present (3rd person singular)
-
recaptured,
past participle, past
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recapturing
present participle
noun
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recaptures
plural
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the recovery or retaking by capture.
-
the taking by the government of a fixed part of all earnings in excess of a certain percentage of property value, as in the case of a railroad.
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International Law. the lawful reacquisition of a former possession.
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the state or fact of being recaptured.
verb
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to capture or take again
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to recover, renew, or repeat (a lost or former ability, sensation, etc)
she soon recaptured her high spirits
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(of the government) to take lawfully (a proportion of the profits of a public-service undertaking)
noun
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the act of recapturing or fact of being recaptured
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the seizure by the government of a proportion of the profits of a public-service undertaking
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
recapturesimple
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recapturessimple
-
have recapturedperfect
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has recapturedperfect
-
am recapturingprogressive
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are recapturingprogressive
-
is recapturingprogressive
-
have been recapturingperfect progressive
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has been recapturingperfect progressive
Past
-
recapturedsimple
-
had recapturedperfect
-
was recapturingprogressive
-
were recapturingprogressive
-
had been recapturingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of recapture
Explanation
To recapture something is to get it back or catch it again. If you were the zookeeper at a very disorganized zoo, one of your jobs might be to recapture runaway baby pandas. The police might recapture an escaped prisoner, and when they do it they can call the act itself a recapture. You can also recapture things in a more figurative way — your dad might like to recapture his high school days by listening to 80s music, for example. The "again" prefix re- is added to capture, from Latin captura, "a taking."
Vocabulary lists containing recapture
Road Home
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cept, capt, ceive (take, hold, seize)
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"Frederick Douglass" and "Renaissance Man"
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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:
“This will help us recapture what we call retail leakage from the other cities, and keep the Camarillo residents in Camarillo,” Winkler said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
If even the once all-powerful Marvel is trying to recapture viewers by positioning itself as haughty and highbrow, there is no doubt snobbery is pushing for the mainstream.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
Focusing on beverages has allowed retailers to recapture audiences with an affordable luxury that’s cheaper than buying a full meal, is pretty enough to post, and brings in more consumers during off-peak hours.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
While Apple has been on a roll this year, the lineup is a bit thin this month and it remains to be seen whether “Ted Lasso” can recapture its first-season magic.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
Obviously they were going to attempt the recapture of the farm.
From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell
But the film recaptures a feeling of genuine uncertainty and awe at the outset of what would prove to be an enduring historical experiment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
However, when a stock quickly recaptures it, that is a good sign.
From Barron's ● Mar. 23, 2026
So’s novel recaptures all the elements that made “Afterparties” a bestseller.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 21, 2023
Instead, watching slick-looking science-fiction characters interact with tiny puppets or actors in big, bulky costumes recaptures the spellbound feeling of watching old children’s shows, like “Sesame Street” or the work of Sid and Marty Krofft.
From New York Times ● Mar. 22, 2023
“I love you,” he says again, and recaptures my face with his other hand.
From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
Qnity Electronics stock has recaptured its 200-day moving average and could be forming a double bottom, setting up a potential 74% gain.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
Burger King recaptured the position after revamping its Whopper sandwich and upgrading restaurants.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Optical stocks have recaptured investors’ interest lately, but Lumentum’s blowout earnings report is being met with a ho-hum response.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Arrested in Mexico in 2024, Zhang later made a dramatic escape before he was recaptured and extradited to the US in 2025.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
But then as the cities were cleared out and recaptured, folks got civilized once again.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
Mr. Wahlberg and Mr. Abdul-Mateen do a more than competent job of recapturing the feuding-buddies energy that Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte gave “48 Hrs.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
“While trends are improving, unanswered questions remain on the path to recapturing historical margins while consistently growing same-store sales,” wrote Zackfia, who has a Market Perform rating on the shares.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
The band members chatted with The Times about recapturing the effortless essence of their immortal beach-ready sound and looking forward to a second chance to chase an endless summer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
"RidgeAlloy offers the first technology capable of recapturing the value of a fast-approaching and historically massive wave of domestic, high-quality recycled automotive aluminum sheet alloys," Haynes said.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 10, 2026
Both the Egalitarians and the Survivalists have run on platforms that involve recapturing the cities of the East and making them safe.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
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.
