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

That is the message to be gained from this year’s lush and quietly astonishing edition of the Carnegie International, a recurring exhibition run by the Carnegie Museum of Art that is almost as old as the Venice Biennale. —Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 12 May 2026

Marietta History Center is hosting its recurring Pop-in for Family Fun event, and this month’s theme is Rockets and Robots. —Kayla Rivera, AJC.com, 12 May 2026

The additional rendezvous signals overwhelmed the system and caused the recurring error messages, alerting the astronauts and NASA to the specific problem. —Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 12 May 2026

Could similar situations recur? —Alice Politi, Vanity Fair, 12 May 2026

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