recur

verb

re·​cur ri-ˈkər 

recurred; recurring

intransitive verb

1

: to occur or appear again

the cancer recurred

a problem that keeps recurring

2

: to come again to mind

One of the staffer's comments, however, keeps recurring to me.

—Kevin R. Kosar

3

: to have recourse : resort

… are no longer willing to recur to Congress to repeal unconstitutional laws …

—Joe Wolverton

4

: to go back in thought or discourse

… on recurring to my letters of that date …

—Thomas Jefferson

Examples of recur in a Sentence

There is only a slight chance that the disease will recur.

The same problem keeps recurring.

Recent Examples on the Web

The recurring trough frequently pushed the jet stream south, helping curve storms northward parallel to the East Coast and then out to sea, following the prevailing west to east wind pattern. —Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 31 Dec. 2025

Any celebrity-loving fashion fan knows that opera gloves have been a recurring red-carpet trend for the last few years. —Morgan Evans, InStyle, 31 Dec. 2025

Until nations and companies treat data fidelity and transparency as part of safety engineering, similar near-misses will recur. —Leonard David, Space.com, 30 Dec. 2025

In a career-spanning conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Jackson looks back on turning the hapless, irreverent, yet utterly sincere broadcast journalist Perd Hapley into a fan-favorite recurring character. —Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin recurrere "to run back, return, have recourse (to)," from re- re- + currere "to run" — more at current entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1512, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for recur

• chauffeur
• cockspur
• concur
• confer
• defer
• demur
• deter
• hotspur
• incur
• infer
• inter
• jagir

Kids Definition

recur

verb

re·​cur ri-ˈkər 

recurred; recurring

1

: to go or come back in thought or discussion

2

: to come again into the mind

3

: to occur or appear again

recurrence

-ˈkər-ən(t)s 

-ˈkə-rən(t)s

noun

Medical Definition

recur

intransitive verb

re·​cur ri-ˈkər 

recurred; recurring

: to occur again after an interval

a disease likely to recur