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.
While these tests capture headlines and Super Bowl ads, the more proven opportunity for investors has been in a less glamorous market: checking for cancer recurrence.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
"We hope this resolution will prevent any recurrence."
From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026
She died in September 2020, two months after she disclosed the recurrence.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 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
But the vote for the third election happened during the 1797 recurrence of yellow fever, when most well-to-do citizens had left the city.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
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.
