recount
Americanverb (used with object)
-
recounts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
recounted,
past participle, past
-
recounting
present participle
-
to relate or narrate; tell in detail; give the facts or particulars of.
- Synonyms:
- describe
-
to narrate in order.
-
to tell one by one; enumerate.
verb
Synonym Usage
See relate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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recountsimple
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recountssimple
-
have recountedperfect
-
has recountedperfect
-
am recountingprogressive
-
are recountingprogressive
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is recountingprogressive
-
have been recountingperfect progressive
-
has been recountingperfect progressive
Past
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recountedsimple
-
had recountedperfect
-
was recountingprogressive
-
were recountingprogressive
-
had been recountingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of recount
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English recounten, from Middle French reconter, equivalent to re- + conter “to tell, count.” See re-, count 1
Explanation
As a verb, recount can mean either "tell the story of" or "add up again." As a noun, recount usually refers to the second (or third or fourth) tallying of votes in a close election. The word count comes from the old French conter, which means "add up" or "tell a story." Here's a story to recount (narrate): In an election featuring Count Dracula and Count Johnson, Dracula wins by two votes, so Johnson demands a recount (an adding up of the votes again). The officials recount (count again) the votes, and this time find Count Johnson the winner. Dracula threatens to bite the officials and they quickly change their minds.
Vocabulary lists containing recount
Vocabulary of the Common Core
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Electoral Elocution: The Verbiage of Voting
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List 8
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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:
The novel then shifts to recount the “contrapuntal fate” of Adelaide Percheron, an orphan raised by her grandmother in Pondicherry, a French settlement in India.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
More than 2,500 ballots had been misplaced in the original count, but were found while doing the recount.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
To speak of trauma is not only to recount an event; it is also to expose fear, helplessness, and loss of control.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
The report went on to recount that the Emirati leader relayed the conversation he had with Netanyahu to the then CIA director William J Burns.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
“It would,” admitted Dr. Trefusis, “perhaps be salutary for you to recount it.”
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
In the film, he recounts how, after his concerns were dismissed by a higher-up at LACMA, Asco decided to take matters into its own hands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
The documentary recounts the history of the original group while heeding its call to action by collaborating with next-gen artists to carry the tradition forward.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Robin recounts the research he did for the book and explains why the history of bonds is more interesting than you might think.
From Slate ● Sep. 26, 2026
She recounts being jerked from sleep by the screams of alarms when First Light is becalmed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Watching a celebrity talk show on television, they listen for several minutes as a movie star with bright teeth recounts details of his recent divorce.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
At the Fonda, Adéla recounted moving here from her native Slovakia and working alongside the show’s other contestants to “try to become pop stars together,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Cena, who is himself a car collector, recounted one of the most significant car purchases of his life -- "a fake Lamborghini."
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
“I pulled the yoke backward,” he recounted to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
In the Senedd on Thursday, one member after another recounted in detail the history of sites in their area that they were worried about.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Frank and Leo recounted what had happened in the room with the Archimedes spheres, and the visions Gaea had shown them in the bronze mirror.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
“It was a little hard for me to breathe, and my eyes started burning a lot,” she said in Spanish, recounting the incident to a reporter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
But an email seen by ProPublica suggests that someone must have relayed the news of Kao’s donation to Collins, just like Reed promised to do in Kao’s recounting of the Corner Bakery meeting.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
And in the heart of the capital, near the British Museum, a pub has hung up an eight-metre embroidered "Beer Tapestry" recounting the history of brewing in a playful tribute to the more violent original.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
After a few days, Lee started to settle in, proudly recounting how she handled distributing a series of checks on her own when her trainer was out of the office.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
The animals had now reassembled in the wildest excitement, each recounting his own exploits in the battle at the top of his voice.
From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell
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.
