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
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.
By learning how to recharge those tiny engines, scientists may be opening a new path in the fight against dementia.
From Science Daily • May 16, 2026
The man in the cockpit is now required to manage how much energy the car is using, often by lifting his foot off the gas to let the battery recharge.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
The total amount of permitted recharge on a lap has been reduced from 8MJ to 7MJ - thereby reducing the amount of energy needed to be recovered and therefore the amount of time doing so.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
She had come to the park alone to "to be around people, recharge and feel better".
From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026
After spending the day hidden 200 feet below the surface, the Soviet submarines rose to shallow depth to recharge their batteries in the dark.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
