reclamation
Americannoun
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the reclaiming of desert, marshy, or submerged areas or other wasteland for cultivation or other use.
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the act or process of reclaiming.
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the state of being reclaimed.
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the process or industry of deriving usable materials from waste, by-products, etc.
noun
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the conversion of desert, marsh, or other waste land into land suitable for cultivation
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the recovery of useful substances from waste products
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the act of reclaiming or state of being reclaimed
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of reclamation
1525–35, in sense “a protest”; < Middle French < Latin reclāmātiōn- (stem of reclāmātiō ) crying out against, equivalent to reclāmāt ( us ) (past participle of reclāmāre; see reclaim) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Reclamation is the act of returning something to a former, better state. Land reclamation might involve razing a strip mall and planting crops. Reclamation is the noun form of the verb to reclaim. Most people involved in reclamation want to reclaim something out of a sense of moral or environmental duty. Since re- means "again," it makes sense that a reclamation involves restoring something to its former glory, especially something that has gone to the dogs. Anything that's fallen on hard times is a good candidate for reclamation.
Vocabulary lists containing reclamation
East Asia - Middle School
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East Asia - High School
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Natural Resources and the Environment - 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.
"I like that the movie deals with the ideas of realisation, forgiveness, reconciliation, reclamation," she adds.
From BBC • May 1, 2026
Much less clear was how successful he might be when Real Sociedad handed him a midseason reclamation project in late December.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026
The visual language recalls a simpler time — a reclamation of an innocence lost.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026
“The Bride!” is a wild, willfully over-the-top double-barreled reinvigoration of 1935’s “Bride of Frankenstein” that is always doing something a little extra in telling its unpredictable story of identity and the reclamation of the self.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2026
My reclamation would be accomplished, like Malcolm’s, through books, through my own study and exploration.
From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
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.
