regain

verb

re·​gain ri-ˈgān How to pronounce regain (audio)
regained; regaining

transitive verb

1
: to gain (something) anew : to get (something) again : recover
She regained her health/strength.
I regained my footing/balance.
struggling to regain his composure
pulled ahead to regain the lead
Some of them regained the weight they had lost.
… was still alive and slowly regaining consciousness.Walter Isaacson
… managed to regain control of the airplane and execute a successful landing …Peter Katz
2
: to get back to (something) : to reach (something) again
After a prolonged struggle to regain the ridge, during which the only assistance my partners could offer was a tight rope, I crawled back along the path I had so recently chiseled …Jeff Lowe
… one of them was unhorsed and then, when out of view, regained his saddle.Daniel J. Boorstin

Examples of regain in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Turnout regained roughly half of its losses from 2016 as Black voters rallied to stop a second Trump term, Towler said. Darrell Smith, Sacramento Bee, 5 Mar. 2024 However, outages appear be dropping rapidly with users continuing to regain access. Chris Sims, The Indianapolis Star, 5 Mar. 2024 Thanks to a tenfold increase in its stock price, the company has regained ground on its two larger rivals. Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024 Here's what Parents editors and writers are using to combat the clutter and regain some peace of mind this season—starting at $9. Parents Editors, Parents, 4 Mar. 2024 But Gonzaga answered with seven straight points to regain control and Saint Mary’s never got closer than 11 points the rest of the night. Jeff Faraudo, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024 But Sporting regained control of the match’s flow and appeared to do enough to ride out the win. Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 3 Mar. 2024 Al-Nassr regained the lead a minute into the second half through Talisca’s strike, but Al-Shabab responded again, this time with Carlos Júnior’s goal from close range to make it 2-2. Abbas Allawati, CNN, 27 Feb. 2024 While most of them were destroyed under the communist rule, many of them were rebuilt in the 1990s once Mongolia regained its independence. Breanna Wilson, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'regain.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1569, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of regain was in 1569

Dictionary Entries Near regain

Cite this Entry

“Regain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/regain. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

regain

verb
re·​gain
ri-ˈgān
1
: to gain or get again
regained my health
2
: to get back to : reach again
regain the shore

More from Merriam-Webster on regain

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