Etymology
Origin of recurrence
Explanation
If something is happening yet again, there's a recurrence of it. Most sports fans hope there isn't a recurrence of last year's losing season. If you keep getting a hacking cough, then you're having a recurrence — that cough just keeps coming back. The word recurrence has to do with things that repeat or return, often at predictable times. If your dog barks at the same time every day, your neighbors might complain about the recurrence of noise. A note on using this word: reoccurrence means basically the same thing, but recurrence is considered a more stylish choice.
Vocabulary lists containing recurrence
"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce
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"Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving
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Vocabulary from Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points" (1918)
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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.
Cells that survive after gaining extra DNA may continue multiplying and potentially contribute to tumor recurrence.
From Science Daily • May 25, 2026
But the destination, a world where recurrence is caught before it spreads, looks increasingly inevitable.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
"We hope this resolution will prevent any recurrence."
From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026
That sense of closure is invaluable for people who have spent years worrying about the possibility of a recurrence.
From Slate • Mar. 29, 2026
The idea of discovery simply could not take hold in a culture so preoccupied with Biblical chronology and liturgical repetition on the one hand, and secular ideas of rebirth, recurrence and reinterpretation on the other.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
