recoup
Americanverb (used with object)
-
recoups,
present (3rd person singular)
-
recouped,
past participle, past
-
recouping
present participle
-
to get back the equivalent of.
to recoup one's losses by a lucky investment.
-
to regain or recover.
-
to reimburse or indemnify; pay back.
to recoup a person for expenses.
- Synonyms:
- remunerate, recompense
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Law. to withhold (a portion of something due), having some rightful claim to do so.
verb (used without object)
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recoups,
present (3rd person singular)
-
recouped,
past participle, past
-
recouping
present participle
-
to get back an equivalent, as of something lost.
-
Law. (of a defendant in a lawsuit) to plead that one is owed, in the same matter, an amount by the plaintiff which applies against the payment of one’s own debt to the plaintiff.
noun
verb
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to regain or make good (a financial or other loss)
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(tr) to reimburse or compensate (someone), as for a loss
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law to keep back (something due), having rightful claim to do so; withhold; deduct
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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recoupsimple
-
recoupssimple
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have recoupedperfect
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has recoupedperfect
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am recoupingprogressive
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are recoupingprogressive
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is recoupingprogressive
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have been recoupingperfect progressive
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has been recoupingperfect progressive
Past
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recoupedsimple
-
had recoupedperfect
-
was recoupingprogressive
-
were recoupingprogressive
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had been recoupingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of recoup
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Middle French recouper “to cut back, cut again,” equivalent to re- re- ( def. ) + couper “to cut”; see coup 1 ( def. )
Explanation
To recoup is a kind of recovery: If you lost some money but then made that amount back, you recouped your loss. When you recuperate, you get better after being sick. And when you recoup something, you get better or bounce back after a loss. Businesses that lose money try to recoup it by throwing a sale or cutting their budget. If a runner falls behind in a race but then speeds up to the front of the pack, he's recouped his lead. In some cases this word also means "to reimburse."
Vocabulary lists containing recoup
The Joy Luck Club
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The Distance Between Us
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The Odyssey
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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:
China’s leaders are in the midst of a campaign to recoup hundreds of billions of dollars worth of unpaid capital-gains and income taxes owed by wealthy Chinese citizens.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
But the department store is seeking to recoup costs from the estate, according to Harrods and lawyers involved in the negotiations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Arsenal had considered listening to offers for Lewis-Skelly, with club sources indicating in April they would look to recoup a minimum combined £100m for Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
If the company was subsequently sold to a private buyer, the government would be able to recoup some taxpayer cash.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
In order to recoup his costs, he set out a cash basket and a sign with the suggested price.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
But even if it recoups it, this may not suffice to persuade foreigners to buy German cars, medical equipment or tunnel-boring machines they no longer need.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
But the economy typically recoups most of that lost activity after a shutdown ends, as it would after disruption caused by a natural disaster.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2025
The RSN recoups that by charging cable distributors a licensing amount to carry their channel in as many places as possible.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 31, 2023
Soto said as he stepped through his mud-streaked living room to his patio, adding that he plans to rebuild, no matter what he recoups from insurance policies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2022
This cheers the Southern heart and partially recoups him for his chickens.
From Comic History of the United States by F. Opper
Savinho's arrival will push Spurs' spending this summer past £300m, although they have recouped about £140m through the sales of Cristian Romero, Djed Spence and Luka Vuskovic.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
It is a noble mission; movie theaters need all the help they can get and heading into its second weekend, “The Odyssey” has already more than recouped its $250 million production budget.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Disney's Pixar films have historically recouped their budgets - often comfortably - with many titles bringing in three times as much as they cost to make and promote.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
After one of the largest one-day declines on record Monday, South Korea’s high-flying stock market recouped almost all of those losses Tuesday.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026
Like the rest, he staked his dollars boldly, and when he lost them, which happened now and then, accepted it as what was to be expected, and usually recouped himself on another deal.
From A Damaged Reputation by Harold Bindloss
But representatives for landlords say doing so would leave them with few desirable options for recouping the cost of utilities and would hurt conservation efforts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Shares in easyJet have gained over 40% since Castlelake made public its interest in a possible takeover, recouping its losses since the war in the Middle East began and cast a pall on airline stocks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
But that’s also what gives the movie its charm, especially considering it’s a big-budget studio production that never had a shot at recouping the studio’s investment, even if it were successful.
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026
The shares were up nearly 14% at $109 by midafternoon, more than recouping losses from the previous session amid volatile trading.
From Barron's ● May 5, 2026
Then he came to this country in the hope of recouping himself, and to get away from the fast set that surrounded him.
From The Fat of the Land The Story of an American Farm by John Williams Streeter
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.
