reclamation

noun

rec·​la·​ma·​tion ˌre-klə-ˈmā-shən 

: the act or process of reclaiming: such as

a

: reformation, rehabilitation

b

: restoration to use : recovery

Synonyms of reclamation

• recovery
• recapture
• retrieval

Examples of reclamation in a Sentence

pumped water out of the field as part of the land reclamation program designed to provide farmers with more farmland

Recent Examples on the Web

The veterans were essentially reclamation projects. —Eric Stephens, New York Times, 15 May 2026

Saturday, May 16, follows Johanna Schopfer, a watch factory worker in Geneva whose summer obsession with restoring her vintage VW Beetle becomes a personal and political act of reclamation. —Jd Linville, Variety, 15 May 2026

The poems make connections in loss and reclamation, in the realm of the deeply personal and the vastly political. —Time, 12 May 2026

There’s a communion that happens in this reclamation of self and a beautiful energy that’s shared. —Devon Ivie, Vulture, 7 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

French réclamation, from Latin reclamation-, reclamatio, from reclamare

First Known Use

1633, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for reclamation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

Kids Definition

reclamation

noun

rec·​la·​ma·​tion ˌrek-lə-ˈmā-shən 

: the act or process of reclaiming : the state of being reclaimed

Legal Definition

reclamation

noun

rec·​la·​ma·​tion ˌre-klə-ˈmā-shən 

1

: the act or process of reclaiming

the reclamation of goods delivered to an insolvent buyer

2

: a right to reclaim (as under commercial law)