Re-create or recreate?
re-create is a verb meaning “To create again; to create anew”; recreate is a verb meaning “To give new life, energy or encouragement (to); to refresh, enliven”. re-create is written with a hyphen and recreate as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between re-create and recreate?
| re-create | recreate | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | verb | verb |
| Meaning | To create again; to create anew | To give new life, energy or encouragement (to); to refresh, enliven To enjoy or entertain oneself |
| Example | none recorded | none recorded |
| Forms | re-creates, re-creating, re-created | recreates, recreating, recreated |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ˈɹɛk.ɹi.eɪt/ |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 3.3 times per million words |
Sources: re-create and recreate in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of re-create and recreate
re-create
- 1
To create again; to create anew
recreate
- 1
To give new life, energy or encouragement (to); to refresh, enliven
- 2
To enjoy or entertain oneself
- 3
To take recreation
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, re-create or recreate?
re-create is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; recreate 3.3 times per million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search re-create vs recreate?
“re-create vs recreate” is searched about 20 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“recreate vs re-create”, “re-create or recreate”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.