recur

verb

re·​cur ri-ˈkər 

recurred; recurring

intransitive verb

1

: to have recourse : resort

2

: to go back in thought or discourse

on recurring to my letters of that date

—Thomas Jefferson

3

a

: to come up again for consideration

b

: to come again to mind

4

: to occur again after an interval : occur time after time

the cancer recurred

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

Rogers also appeared as Hunter Jones in The Bold and the Beautiful in 1997, and as Colin Atkinson in a recurring capacity in The Young and The Restless from 2010 to 2019. —Marc Berman, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025

Police presence in the area was inconsistent, and more police presence alone wouldn’t solve recurring problems, stakeholders argued. —Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 15 Aug. 2025

Brendon Tremblay, Swayam Bhatia and Keegan Connor Tracy will have recurring roles. —Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 15 Aug. 2025

After a nearly 15-year hiatus, Rogers returned to the show in 2006 for a series of recurring appearances, followed by additional guest performances in 2008, 2012-2016 and 2018-2024. —Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 15 Aug. 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 1

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