recur

American  

[ri-kur] / rɪˈkɜr /

verb (used without object)

recurred, recurring

1. to occur again, as an event, experience, etc.

2. to return to the mind.

   The idea kept recurring.

3. to come up again for consideration, as a question.

4. to have recourse.

---

recur British  

/ rɪˈkɜː /

verb

1. to happen again, esp at regular intervals

2. (of a thought, idea, etc) to come back to the mind

3. (of a problem, etc) to come up again

4. maths (of a digit or group of digits) to be repeated an infinite number of times at the end of a decimal fraction

---

Other Word Forms

• recurring adjective
• recurringly adverb

Etymology

Origin of recur

1610–20; earlier: to recede < Latin recurrere to run back, equivalent to re- re- + currere to run

Example Sentences

This pattern of capital flight would recur throughout American history.

From The Wall Street Journal

Yet Miles’ experience highlights a recurring problem: Native Americans, the first inhabitants of what is now the United States, are sometimes treated as foreigners by the very government their ancestors predated.

From Salon

After examining patterns of brain activity, Tafazoli and Buschman found that the prefrontal cortex, a region at the front of the brain involved in high-level thinking and decision-making, contained several recurring patterns of activity.

From Science Daily

Lending is on the rise across almost every division at Goldman, part of the company’s goal to increase recurring revenue streams.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Jaws,” released in America two years earlier, is still playing in the city of Recife, and the use of the toothy fish as a recurring motif suggests all norms are on hold while sharks rule.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• persist
• reappear