re·cov·er
ri-ˈkə-vər 
recovered; recovering
ri-ˈkə-və-riŋ
-ˈkəv-riŋ
1
: to get back : regain
2
a
: to bring back to normal position or condition
stumbled, then recovered himself
b
archaic
: rescue
3
a
: to make up for
recover increased costs through higher prices
b
: to gain by legal process
4
archaic
: reach
5
: to find or identify again
recover a comet
6
a
: to obtain from an ore, a waste product, or a by-product
b
: to save from loss and restore to usefulness : reclaim
1
: to regain a normal position or condition (as of health)
recovering from a cold
2
: to obtain a final legal judgment in one's favor
Synonyms
Examples of recover in a Sentence
Verb (1)
She had a heart attack but is recovering well.
Share prices will be down until the economy recovers.
She recovered consciousness in the hospital.
I slipped, but somehow recovered my balance.
He suffered a stroke and hasn't yet recovered the use of his left arm.
The police recovered his stolen wallet.
The program helps users recover computer files that have been deleted.
Recent Examples on the Web
Kayla Guo, New York Times, 18 May 2024
Incumbents do poorly in the first debate — George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump — then slowly recover.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 18 May 2024
How many people have died from the bark scorpion in Arizona?
Most people who are stung by Arizona bark scorpions in the United States recover fully.
—Tiffany Acosta, The Arizona Republic, 18 May 2024
In 2022, Newsom’s budget staff evidently looked at a spike in tax revenue as the state’s economy recovered from the pandemic, mostly due to massive amounts of federal relief funds, and concluded that the cornucopia would continue indefinitely.
—Dan Walters, The Mercury News, 18 May 2024
Commodities Lift Stocks The UK’s FTSE 100 Index has beaten the Euro Stoxx 50 in dollar terms over the past three months, recovering much of its underperformance from the beginning of the year.
—Jan-Patrick Barnert, Fortune, 18 May 2024
Houston continues to recover after dangerous storms with extremely high winds swept through the area on Thursday leaving broken glass on streets, windows blown out, power lines down, trees on homes and families mourning after at least four people were reported dead.
—Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY, 17 May 2024
Kopech recovered and got out of the inning without a run scoring.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 17 May 2024
Ancient Greeks loaded up on red meat before Olympic contests, and medieval knights recovered from war with venison and pork.
—Matt Fuchs, TIME, 17 May 2024
Nancy Baggett, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
Remove salmon from the refrigerator and turn pieces so all sides are immersed in the rub; re-cover and place container back in the refrigerator for at least 14 hours or up to 3 days.
—Kimberly Winter Stern, Kansas City Star, 24 Jan. 2024
Stir and cook some more: Stir everything together really well, then re-cover the slow cooker, and cook on LOW for another 4 hours, or until the apples are extremely soft.
—Pam Lolley, Southern Living, 9 Sep. 2023
Broken legs were replaced by bricks or buckets and seats re-covered with fabric and string.
—Daron James, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2023
Martin also re-covered the walls of such Milan Fashion Week meccas as Apophis Club, Vasiliki Kouzina, and Trattoria Torre di Pisa.
—Ingrid Abramovitch, ELLE Decor, 19 Apr. 2023
Most designers would insist on re-covering the piece entirely, but Ridder isn’t interested in perfection.
—Robert Rufino, ELLE Decor, 27 Mar. 2023
Two armchairs the client already owned were re-covered by South Harlow Interiors in Arctic Oyster linen fabric by Otis Textiles.
—Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2023
For an easy update, re-cover your furniture with a new fabric and trim.
—Rachel Silva, ELLE Decor, 10 Mar. 2023
Verb
Israeli forces on Saturday recovered the body of an Israeli man held in Gaza since Oct. 7, the fourth body recovered in two days, raising fears about the fates of roughly 128 captives still in the enclave.
—Kayla Guo, New York Times, 18 May 2024
Incumbents do poorly in the first debate — George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump — then slowly recover.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 18 May 2024
How many people have died from the bark scorpion in Arizona?
Most people who are stung by Arizona bark scorpions in the United States recover fully.
—Tiffany Acosta, The Arizona Republic, 18 May 2024
In 2022, Newsom’s budget staff evidently looked at a spike in tax revenue as the state’s economy recovered from the pandemic, mostly due to massive amounts of federal relief funds, and concluded that the cornucopia would continue indefinitely.
—Dan Walters, The Mercury News, 18 May 2024
Commodities Lift Stocks The UK’s FTSE 100 Index has beaten the Euro Stoxx 50 in dollar terms over the past three months, recovering much of its underperformance from the beginning of the year.
—Jan-Patrick Barnert, Fortune, 18 May 2024
Houston continues to recover after dangerous storms with extremely high winds swept through the area on Thursday leaving broken glass on streets, windows blown out, power lines down, trees on homes and families mourning after at least four people were reported dead.
—Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY, 17 May 2024
Kopech recovered and got out of the inning without a run scoring.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 17 May 2024
Ancient Greeks loaded up on red meat before Olympic contests, and medieval knights recovered from war with venison and pork.
—Matt Fuchs, TIME, 17 May 2024
Verb
Microwave on high 2 for minutes, then turn over the bacon; re-cover with the paper towels.
—Nancy Baggett, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
Remove salmon from the refrigerator and turn pieces so all sides are immersed in the rub; re-cover and place container back in the refrigerator for at least 14 hours or up to 3 days.
—Kimberly Winter Stern, Kansas City Star, 24 Jan. 2024
Stir and cook some more: Stir everything together really well, then re-cover the slow cooker, and cook on LOW for another 4 hours, or until the apples are extremely soft.
—Pam Lolley, Southern Living, 9 Sep. 2023
Broken legs were replaced by bricks or buckets and seats re-covered with fabric and string.
—Daron James, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2023
Martin also re-covered the walls of such Milan Fashion Week meccas as Apophis Club, Vasiliki Kouzina, and Trattoria Torre di Pisa.
—Ingrid Abramovitch, ELLE Decor, 19 Apr. 2023
Most designers would insist on re-covering the piece entirely, but Ridder isn’t interested in perfection.
—Robert Rufino, ELLE Decor, 27 Mar. 2023
Two armchairs the client already owned were re-covered by South Harlow Interiors in Arctic Oyster linen fabric by Otis Textiles.
—Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2023
For an easy update, re-cover your furniture with a new fabric and trim.
—Rachel Silva, ELLE Decor, 10 Mar. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'recover.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near recover
Cite this Entry
“Recover.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recover. Accessed 22 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
recover
1 of 2 verb
re·cov·er
ri-ˈkəv-ər
recovered; recovering
-ˈkəv-(ə-)riŋ
1
: regain sense 1
recover a lost wallet
recovered my breath
2
: to regain or bring back to normal health, self-confidence, or position
stumbled, then recovered myself
recovered from the flu
3
: to make up for
recover lost time
4
: to obtain something useful by separating it from a source (as ore or waste) : reclaim
recover gold from gravel
re-cover
2 of 2 verb
re-cov·er
(ˈ)rē-ˈkəv-ər
: to cover again
Medical Definition
recover
intransitive verb
re·cov·er
ri-ˈkəv-ər
recovered; recovering
-(ə-)riŋ
: to regain a normal position or condition (as of health)
recovering from the effects of a cold
Legal Definition
recover
transitive verb
re·cov·er
ri-ˈkə-vər
1
: to get back or get back an equivalent for
recover costs through higher prices
2
a
: to obtain or get back (as damages, satisfaction for a debt, or property) through a judgment or decree
recover damages in a tort action
b
: to obtain (a judgment) in one's favor
1
: to get something back
2
: to obtain damages or something else through a judgment
argued that the plaintiff should not be permitted to recover
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