recursive definition

:  a definition of a function permitting values of the function to be calculated systematically in a finite number of steps; especially :  a mathematical definition in which the first case is given and the nth case is defined in terms of one or more previous cases and especially the immediately preceeding one a recursive definition of the factorial is given by 0! = 1 and (n + 1)! = (n + 1) ‧ n!