reclaim
Americanverb (used with object)
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reclaims,
present (3rd person singular)
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reclaimed,
past participle, past
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reclaiming
present participle
verb (used without object)
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reclaims,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reclaimed,
past participle, past
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reclaiming
present participle
noun
verb
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to claim back
to reclaim baggage
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to convert (desert, marsh, waste ground, etc) into land suitable for growing crops
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to recover (useful substances) from waste products
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to convert (someone) from sin, folly, vice, etc
-
falconry to render (a hawk or falcon) tame
noun
Synonym Usage
See recover.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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reclaimantnoun
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reclaimernoun
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nonreclaimableadjective
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reclaimableadjective
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unreclaimableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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reclaimsimple
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reclaimssimple
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have reclaimedperfect
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has reclaimedperfect
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am reclaimingprogressive
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are reclaimingprogressive
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is reclaimingprogressive
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have been reclaimingperfect progressive
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has been reclaimingperfect progressive
Past
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reclaimedsimple
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had reclaimedperfect
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was reclaimingprogressive
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were reclaimingprogressive
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had been reclaimingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reclaim
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
Explanation
To reclaim something is to get it back. If a divorced couple remarries, they reclaim their marriage. To claim is to declare or take ownership of something. To reclaim is to retake something lost. An injured quarterback must reclaim the starting position from his replacement. Two countries fighting over territory may lose and reclaim an area of land. A bank can reclaim a house if you don't make mortgage payments. Reclaim comes from the Old French reclamer, "to call back," which is rooted in the Latin word reclamare, "cry out against, or appeal."
Vocabulary lists containing reclaim
Power Prefix: re-
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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
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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:
In his first on-the-record interview about his rocky 33 months running Disney, Chapek said Bob Iger campaigned to undermine him and eventually reclaim the helm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Fast-food chains have discounted aggressively in an effort to reclaim those customers.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
"From my perspective as a sportsman, I can say that I would very much like to reclaim the flag for myself, for all of us," said Klopp.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Nine months after an injury ended his reign as flyweight champion in just 26 seconds, the Brazilian returned to the Octagon to try to reclaim the belt that slipped away.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
Sneak around shielded, reclaim some fairy weaponry, then cause havoc until Fowl was forced to release her.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
But then a new generation rediscovers and reclaims it, until suddenly it’s being rebooted by a “Sundance wunderkind.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
If the stock reclaims $47, it could move toward $57 by mid-2026, implying roughly 25% upside from current levels.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
Before Harvard reclaims my Ph.D., let me lay out the merits of annuities.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 20, 2026
Having come off the bench at the halfway stage against France, Zander Fagerson reclaims his place from D'Arcy Rae.
From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2026
The man nods to himself and reclaims his cane, pulling a pale handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the boy’s fingerprints from the surface.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
This particularly productive decade is the focus of Voena’s presentation that shows the Italian artist working with reclaimed advertising posters to create abstract décollage canvases that evolved to also include realist elements.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Rudy now spends some of his reclaimed time binge-watching TV with his wife.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Nationwide, 95 percent of all incumbents reclaimed their seats in 2024.
From Slate ● Sep. 2, 2026
Bitcoin has broken its intermediate downtrend, reclaimed important moving averages and pushed through resistance on stronger volume.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
Ben pushed the power button on the stereo, and we all got very quiet as Ben pulled into a parking lot long since reclaimed by the gray sandy dirt.
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
Microsoft is close to reclaiming a $4 trillion market cap — and fresh records are also in sight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
I thought this costume was funny, clever, appropriating and reclaiming the narrative that haunted me all my life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
Kerr smashed the 27-year mile world record at the London Diamond League and won Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow this summer, after beginning an outstanding year by reclaiming the world indoor 3,000m title.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Kris is a queer filmmaker taking on the task of reclaiming the slasher horror film-within-the-film, “Camp Miasma,” rebooting it for the queer community to no longer be appalled by.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
In 1974, instead of reclaiming his roots by visiting Bursa, my father renounced them.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
