recapture

[ree-kap-cher]

verb (used with object)

recaptured, recapturing 

1. to capture again; recover by capture; retake.

2. (of a government) to take by recapture.

3. to recollect or reexperience (something past).

noun

1. the recovery or retaking by capture.

2. 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.

3. International Law.,  the lawful reacquisition of a former possession.

4. the state or fact of being recaptured.

recapture

/ riːˈkæptʃə /

verb

1. to capture or take again

2. to recover, renew, or repeat (a lost or former ability, sensation, etc)

   she soon recaptured her high spirits

3. (of the government) to take lawfully (a proportion of the profits of a public-service undertaking)

noun

1. the act of recapturing or fact of being recaptured

2. the seizure by the government of a proportion of the profits of a public-service undertaking

Other Word Forms

• recapturable adjective
• unrecaptured adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of recapture¹

First recorded in 1745–55; re- + capture

Example Sentences

Mexican authorities informed senior U.S. officials that Zhang had been recaptured.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

This month, though, it took just three weeks for the army to recapture Kyaukme.

Read more on BBC

The incident happened as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents tried to recapture an "illegal alien" in an operation supported by US Marshals, Assistant Secretary of State for Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said.

Read more on Barron's

Myanmar's ruling junta said Saturday that it had recaptured a town on a trade highway to China from an ethnic armed group in the country's war-wracked north.

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Insurers have already designed 2026 plans assuming the subsidies end, making it difficult to adjust premiums or recapture members even if an extension occurs.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• reclaim 
• recover 
• retake 
• take back