recur

verb re·cur \ ri-ˈkər \

Definition of recur

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

—

recurrence

play \-ˈkər-ən(t)s, -ˈkə-rən(t)s\ noun

See recur defined for English-language learners

See recur defined for kids

Examples of recur in a Sentence

There is only a slight chance that the disease will recur.
The same problem keeps recurring.

Recent Examples of recur from the Web

Historically, its earnings have benefited from non-recurring income, such as insurance plans and charges on customers who use their phones outside of the terms of their plan.

— sam chambers, Bloomberg.com, "Dixons Carphone Under Fire as U.K. Plc Profits Grind to Halt," 24 Aug. 2017
About 75 percent of all inmates who come into the Harford County Detention Center suffer from some type of substance addiction, whether prior or recurring, a number that's likely even higher, the jail's warden says.

— erika butler, The Aegis, "Harford jail unit aids inmates serious about recovery from addiction," 7 Aug. 2017
At the same time, the comedy made its first big change by announcing that Leah Remini — who has recurred on the comedy as a tough detective named Vanessa Cellucci — would become a series regular in season 2.

— lynette rice, PEOPLE.com, "Kevin Can Wait Will Kill Off Erinn Hayes' Character This Fall," 1 Aug. 2017
Genocide is a recurring dark chapter in human history that often begins with inexplicable prejudice.

— donna vickroy, Daily Southtown, "Vickroy: From the ashes of Rwanda's genocide rises a phoenix of forgiveness," 28 July 2017
My friend Julie Schott of Elle.com even has a recurring Instagram Story thread called #PoopTalk.

— kathleen hou, The Cut, "The French Laxative That My Most Constipated Friends Swear By," 19 July 2017
The most promising new treatment for recurring C. diff infections is fecal microbiota transplantation — infusing beneficial intestinal bacteria into patients to compete with C. diff, according to the study.

— rita giordano, Philly.com, "Penn study finds deadly C. diff infections are on the rise," 3 July 2017
Earnhardt announced his retirement to take place after the 2017 NASCAR season because of recurring injuries and also his off-the-track interests.

— cheryl wray, AL.com, "Dale Jr. tops final practice round ahead of Daytona race," 30 June 2017
Drivers must bid for a limited number of special permits, as well as pay a slew of taxes and recurring fees that can more than double the cost of car ownership.

— eric lam, Bloomberg.com, "Hong Kong Versus Singapore: Which City Is Best for Expats?," 28 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'recur.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.