recur

American  

[ri-kur] / rɪˈkɜr /

verb (used without object)

recurs, present (3rd person singular) recurred, past participle, past recurring present participle

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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• recurring
  adjective
• recurringly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• recurring
  present
• recurred
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• recur
  simple
• recurs
  simple
• have recurred
  perfect
• has recurred
  perfect
• am recurring
  progressive
• are recurring
  progressive
• is recurring
  progressive
• have been recurring
  perfect progressive
• has been recurring
  perfect progressive

Past

• recurred
  simple
• had recurred
  perfect
• was recurring
  progressive
• were recurring
  progressive
• had been recurring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will recur
  simple
• will have recurred
  perfect
• will be recurring
  progressive
• will have been recurring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of recur

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

Explanation

Have you ever had the same crazy dream night after night? If so, you know that dreams can recur, meaning they repeat, or happen again. The verb recur is used to describe something that happens over and over, whether it’s an injury, an argument, or a character who pops up from time to time on a television show. Recur often describes an event that happens repeatedly, but it can also be used to describe something, such as an image or a memory, that for some reason just keeps popping back up in your mind, like self-doubt that recurs every time you worry about something.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

recur recurs recurred recurring

Long-simmering frustration over the state's lack of accountability created the conditions for this "implosion", he told the BBC, adding that the architecture of social media makes such eruptions likely to recur.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

The intention is generous: to draw Golding into a wider contemporary conversation, to show how persistently his ideas recur.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Sirinya is worried that such a tragedy could recur "because there are so many of these pubs".

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

“I got the audition last year, about April,” Callan recalled, “just to recur. And I said, ‘This is silly, they’re not going to cast a Los Angeles actor to go recur in Massachusetts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

My mother has given me pictures to dream—nightmare babies that recur, shrinking again and again to fit in my palm.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

This cycle recurs across cultures, but few embody it as vividly as the Celts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026

It's a theme that recurs on subsequent tracks - perhaps suggesting that BTS were wary about dipping their toes back into the choppy waters of fame.

From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2026

If the same pattern recurs, employment gains last month could be stronger than expected.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 7, 2026

That conflict between “progress” and “tradition” has never been resolved, and recurs in every generation.

From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2025

Thus throughout history a struggle which is the same in its main outlines recurs over and over again.

From "1984" by George Orwell

Insurance company Allianz modeled how countries would fare if the five hottest years each experienced between 2014 and 2024 recurred in succession.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

Adler also recurred on FX’s “Rescue Me” as fire chief Sidney Feinberg and appeared in series ranging from “Northern Exposure” and “Mad About You” to “Transparent” and “Broad City.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2025

As someone who has always had a masochistic streak, finding out that these sequences of cars speeding down darkened paths recurred in Lynch’s other works both delighted and horrified me.

From Salon ● Jan. 25, 2025

And the speed with which the disease, pancreatic cancer, often recurred could work to the scientists’ advantage: For better or worse, they would find out soon whether the vaccine helped.

From New York Times ● May 10, 2023

The event of last night again recurred to me.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

“Elevated oil prices and Middle East-related supply chain disruption are likely to be recurring themes in company commentary,” they add.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

Friedman advises limiting AI conversational role-play to once a week for recurring interactions, or to the day before a big event.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

Firstly, the 43-year-old company has shifted in favor of offering free entry to many users, which Wood warned effectively brought recurring revenue growth down by about $500 million in its second quarter.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026

Working with such enormous wave functions is a recurring problem in quantum physics.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026

Like the carvings and stained-glass windows in European cathedrals, the art in San Lorenzo and other Olmec cities consisted mainly of powerful, recurring images—the crucifixions and virgins, so to speak, of ancient Mesoamerica.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

• persist
• reappear