recharge

American  

[ree-chahrj, ree-chahrj, ree-chahrj] / riˈtʃɑrdʒ, riˈtʃɑrdʒ, ˈriˌtʃɑrdʒ /

verb (used with object)

• recharges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• recharged,
  past participle,  past
• recharging
  present participle

1. to charge again with electricity.

2. Informal. to refresh or restore; revitalize.

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verb (used without object)

• recharges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• recharged,
  past participle,  past
• recharging
  present participle

1. to make a new charge, especially to attack again.

2. Informal. to revive or restore energy, stamina, enthusiasm, etc.

noun

• recharges
  plural

1. an act or instance of recharging.

2. Geology. the processes by which groundwater is absorbed into the zone of saturation.

recharge British  

/ riːˈtʃɑːdʒ /

verb

1. to cause (an accumulator, capacitor, etc) to take up and store electricity again

2. to revive or renew (one's energies) (esp in recharge one's batteries )

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• recharger
  noun
• rechargeable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• recharges
  plural

Participles

• recharging
  present
• recharged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• recharge
  simple
• recharges
  simple
• have recharged
  perfect
• has recharged
  perfect
• am recharging
  progressive
• are recharging
  progressive
• is recharging
  progressive
• have been recharging
  perfect progressive
• has been recharging
  perfect progressive

Past

• recharged
  simple
• had recharged
  perfect
• was recharging
  progressive
• were recharging
  progressive
• had been recharging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will recharge
  simple
• will have recharged
  perfect
• will be recharging
  progressive
• will have been recharging
  perfect progressive

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

recharge recharges recharged recharging

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

Then it could recharge the cars battery as you travel and when you park.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

They’re useful for remote military applications, where soldiers can use them to recharge an ever-growing array of electronic devices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 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

I plugged in my phone for a recharge, and two texts from Angela popped up.

From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin

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

If blooms begin lagging halfway through the bloom season, an additional feed recharges flowering.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 27, 2024

The energy of the recoil brings the gun back and at the same time recharges the compressed air reservoir.

From Aeroplanes and Dirigibles of War by Frederick Arthur Ambrose Talbot

Aluminum-air batteries have off-the-charts storage capacity but can’t be recharged.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

"It stores sunlight, and it can be recharged."

From Science Daily ● May 15, 2026

With the battery emptying itself within about 11 seconds of full power, it is emptying and being recharged constantly around a lap.

From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2026

“I’d say I’m feeling as refreshed and recharged as I’ve been in a long time,” Riley said Thursday during Big Ten media days.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 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

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

He discovered that, in fact, the biggest drain on the time of care home staff was cleaning and recharging the robots - and above all troubleshooting when they went wrong.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2025

The second battery still had a little juice left, but I can't just run it down all the way before I stop; remember, I need life support while recharging.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Related Words

• refresh
• regenerate
• rejuvenate