- present participle of recur.
recurring
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of recurring
Explanation
Something recurring happens over and over. When you have a recurring cough, it could be something serious, like bronchitis. This is a word for things that keep popping up or returning, like flowers are a recurring subject of the artist Georgia O’Keefe’s paintings. Recurring lateness is a habit your teacher or boss won’t tolerate. Lots of people have recurring health problems, such as back pain or sore knees. A guest character on a TV show who shows up once in awhile is a recurring character: they just keep coming back.
Vocabulary lists containing recurring
List 8
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Number the Stars
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Vocabulary to Describe Literary Devices
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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.
Rachel is the latest named entrant in this year's unusually active Pacific hurricane season, weather charged by the recurring El Nino pattern that this time around is particularly extreme.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
The lesson is that a consumer product usually needs to become something more, whether a platform, a recurring subscription or a product that someone other than the consumer pays for.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
In the mid-1970s, he had a recurring role as soldier Martin Gimbel in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale Farm.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
He thinks the company could generate about $15,000 in recurring software revenue each month for every truck equipped with autonomous-vehicle technology.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
Each untimely end came draped in its own shroud of dread, like a recurring nightmare that never lost its potency.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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.
