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
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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:
Last month, he was moved to house arrest to recuperate after being hospitalized with bronchopneumonia.
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026
So she said they flew her in from Houston and once gave her gas money to drive, putting her up in a hotel for two weeks to recuperate along with two of her children.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2025
The Kigali course was a brutal loop that offered little chance to recuperate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
"We will lose £600-£700 a day. One day might be bearable but it will be impossible to recuperate that total cost," says Prasanna Callaghan, owner of Crumpets Cafe in Buckingham Gate, central London.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2025
But the fact that I survived physically, that in a time period well into my fifties I never collapsed or needed time off to recuperate, is something I am inordinately proud of.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
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 two engagements for Prince William are close to home - at Windsor Castle and in central London - as his wife recuperates in Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor estate.
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2024
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
Feinstein is working while she recuperates, her spokesperson Adam Russell told the San Francisco Chronicle, but she cannot vote without being on the Senate floor or in committee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2023
It is marvellous how easily one recuperates in the open air.
From A Tramp's Sketches by Graham, Stephen
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
We met Dmytro shortly after his release as he recuperated at a Kyiv hospital.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2025
“I hope one day, I can be recuperated, like this violin,” Nikolae said.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 13, 2024
He recuperated for several weeks, and then, under Sally’s and Ricardo’s and Betita’s care, went home to Milagro.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Both Pinto and a police officer testified about the lack of medical equipment in the rented residence where Maradona was recuperating.
From Barron's ● Apr. 23, 2026
Now celebrating its 75th anniversary, Twig's story began in a Tokyo hospital bed where Floyd Hartwig was recuperating after being shot in both legs during the Korean War.
From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026
Barrett said losing both players in quick succession was a major blow and he felt disappointment for Cameron, who spent much of last season recuperating from a serious knee injury to his other leg.
From Barron's ● Feb. 21, 2026
He spent the weekend in the hospital and by Wednesday the family said that he was recuperating at home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2025
He sat in his basement headquarters, recuperating, while we crept around the house and Mommy walked about silently, eyes still red-rimmed, on edge.
From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride
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.
