recuperate
Americanverb (used without object)
-
recuperates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
recuperated,
past participle, past
-
recuperating
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
recuperates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
recuperated,
past participle, past
-
recuperating
present participle
verb
-
(intr) to recover from illness or exhaustion
-
to recover (losses of money, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
recuperatesimple
-
recuperatessimple
-
have recuperatedperfect
-
has recuperatedperfect
-
am recuperatingprogressive
-
are recuperatingprogressive
-
is recuperatingprogressive
-
have been recuperatingperfect progressive
-
has been recuperatingperfect progressive
Past
-
recuperatedsimple
-
had recuperatedperfect
-
was recuperatingprogressive
-
were recuperatingprogressive
-
had been recuperatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of recuperate
First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin recuperātus (past participle of recuperāre, variant of reciperāre “to recover”), equivalent to re- re- + -ciper-, combining form of unattested caper- (obscure derivative of capere “to take”) + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
To recuperate is to get something back that you have lost — could be good health, or money lost in a bad investment. When you recuperate, you heal and recover. Recuperate comes from the Latin word recuperare “to take back,” so when you recuperate you gain something back that was yours before — health or money. Recuperate is usually something people do after an illness. If you break your knee playing rugby in college, you might go home to recuperate. If you don't want to sound fancy, just say you're recovering. It also means to get money back, so you can also try to recuperate your losses by staying in the poker game.
Vocabulary lists containing recuperate
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for Middle School Students, List 5
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Maus I: My Father Bleeds History
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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:
He said that she required surgery and needed to be released from jail in order to properly recuperate afterwards.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
After hitting the stage to perform in Sugar Hill, Ga., on Friday, the Poison lead singer was advised he needed more time to recuperate from recent surgeries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
It forced him to take a break so he could recuperate at home.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
ABU DHABI—Changpeng Zhao, crypto’s richest man, flew home from a California jail a year ago to recuperate in a secluded neighborhood of $30 million villas on a white-sand island here.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
Their home destroyed, the Baudelaires had to recuperate from their terrible loss in the Poe household, which was not at all agreeable.
From "The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket
Once she recuperates, she plans to return to part-time consulting to keep her mind active and feel productive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
The 30-year-old, who has not played since April, is not in England's latest training squad, which was announced on Monday, as he recuperates.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2023
Jay Monahan, the commissioner of the PGA Tour, will be temporarily stepping away from day-to-day duties as he recuperates from an unspecified medical situation.
From New York Times ● Jun. 14, 2023
Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said he would ask the chamber this week to allow another Democratic senator to temporarily serve on the Judiciary Committee while she recuperates.
From Reuters ● Apr. 18, 2023
In this state it recuperates its exhausted energy and power, and stores them up for future need.
From Insanity Its Causes and Prevention by Henry Putnam Stearns
While the dog recuperated, a woman arrived at the shelter later that day to report that her dog, Teddy, had been missing for more than a month.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
After Coronado recuperated, he marched east until the Spaniards encountered 12 Tiwa pueblos near present-day Albuquerque, N.M.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
The Americans turned the screw in the third quarter as Auston Matthews recuperated a loose puck and set up Jake Guentzel, who blasted past Sogaard.
From Barron's ● Feb. 14, 2026
He says the DWP should show "discretion" in applying sanctions - but says taxpayers expect overpayments to be recuperated.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2024
She had recuperated in the Birthing Unit for the first week, tended and checked—pampered a bit, actually, she realized.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
The consumer-goods group behind Dove soap and Vaseline will outline plans at an investor event Wednesday to save 1 billion euros by the end of 2029 by recuperating some costs and overhauling operations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
Garcia’s family believes the only reason she’s alive and recuperating is because neighbors called authorities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
One person close to him believed the time Buffett spent at home recuperating gave him an opportunity to contemplate the company’s future and the decision about when to step down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
It was revealed the 74-year-old from Skewen, Wales, had been rushed to a hospital near her home in Faro, Portugal, on Wednesday for the procedure and was recuperating.
From BBC ● May 7, 2026
"It's seven in the morning. I should be in bed, recuperating."
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
