recapvsrecurWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“recap” and “recur” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#16,106
“recap” frequency rank
#44,442
“recur” frequency rank
60548
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature recap recur
Definition To seal (something) again with a cap. Of an event, situation, etc.: to appear or happen again, especially repeatedly.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set recap and recur apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
recap
5 ch
recur

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. recap (/ɹiːˈkæp/) and recur (/ɹɪˈkɜː/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60548, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

recap is recorded at frequency rank #16,106, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹiːˈkæp/. recur is at rank #44,442, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈkɜː/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 60548, this pair ranks #99,580 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of recap vs recur

Shared letters: cer. Private to "recap": ap. Private to "recur": u.

"recap" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "recur" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • recapercap · rceap · reacp · recapp · reccap · recpa · rrecap
  • recurercur · rceur · reccur · recru · recurr · reucr · rrecur

Frequency comparison

recap#16,106
recur#44,442

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "recap" and "recur" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɹiːˈkæp/ versus /ɹɪˈkɜː/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "recap" or "recur"?
"recap" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,106 in our English list, against #44,442 for "recur". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering recap vs recur

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “recap” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list