reclaim
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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
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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:
Amy says she is relying on her bank to reclaim her money as her travel insurance was booked through GVI.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
The resulting market skepticism persisted even after Strategy’s CEO Phong Le said last Monday that he has purchased $1 million worth of Stretch shares and pledged to hold them until they reclaim par value.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
This leaves disgruntled adult children weighing what to do to reclaim money they feel is rightfully theirs.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
“With this project we wanted to reclaim a part of that genre back.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
I threw out my arms in a lame attempt to reclaim my balance, but the only solid thing I found was Rob’s arm.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
He organizes inventory, reclaims screens and operates heavy manual and automatic presses to print tens of thousands of promotional shirts each year for customers including local breweries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 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
Mayhem marks the moment where she reclaims ownership of her music, not just from "Lady Gaga" but from other producers and writers in her orbit.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2025
The pain of my wounded leg reclaims me.
From "Legend" by Marie Lu
The monarch of American music had successfully reclaimed his throne.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Although the stock slipped below support on April 1, it reclaimed the $100 level on June 5 with a strong 4.5% gain.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
“The estate is adorned with thousands of hand-selected vintage Chicago bricks and a mix of reclaimed materials that define its unmistakable character,” a previous listing description revealed.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
For the time being, vinyl records made from reclaimed materials are the best that companies like Swanson’s can do, though they’re are always on the lookout for other, viable options for improving their footprint.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
In the space of a day, I had reclaimed a family—not mine, hers.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
After proving herself wrong, she has gone on to write a book partly about her experiences entitled My Body is a Meadow, about reclaiming the natural world for all who feel shut out from it.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
The handle portion of the pattern began with a bullish morning star completed on May 20, which also coincided with the stock reclaiming its 200-day simple moving average.
From Barron's ● May 27, 2026
Dos Santos dismissed the idea that the problem is solely related to the tactical scheme and insisted that the most important change involves reclaiming aggressive principles with and without the ball.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2026
For Mr. Feiler, these “entrepreneurs of meaning” have done what he finds “unfathomable”: take a “niche, all-but-dead custom” and turn it into “a thriving symbol,” thereby reclaiming “outdated rituals for contemporary audiences.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
How long would Dibdin wait before reclaiming Curzon’s hat and blanket?
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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.
