recur

/ɹɪˈkɜː/

//ɹɪˈkɜː// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"recur" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“recur” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #44,442. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#44,442
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of an event, situation, etc.: to appear or happen again, especially repeatedly.

Corpus desk

Index EN-recur · recur · English

recur · rank #44,442 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #44,442
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH reconsiderati…

Nearest frequency peer: reconsideration (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “recur”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “recur” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

recur vs Reus
40% similar
recur vs refer
60% similar
recur vs revue
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for recur
PropertyValue
Headwordrecur
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɹɪˈkɜː/
Letters5
Frequency rank#44,442
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “recur”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).recurlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “reconsideration” (#44,441), “recursion” (#44,443), “recharging” (#44,440). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “recur” is #44,442. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around recur (IPA /ɹɪˈkɜː/), averb. Corpus frequency is #44,442 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for recur, with forms such as "ercur", "rceur", and "reccur". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Reus", "refer", "revue", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Latin recurrō (“to hurry or run back; to return, revert”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘back, backwards’) + currō (“to hasten, hurry; to move, travel; to run”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”)). cognates * Anglo-Nor… The correct English form is recur, spelled R-E-C-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of an event, situation, etc.: to appear or happen again, especially repeatedly.
  2. 2
    Of an event, situation, etc.: to appear or happen again, especially repeatedly.
  3. 3
    Of a memory, thought, etc.: to come to the mind again.
  4. 4
    To speak, think, or write about something again; to go back or return to a memory, a subject, etc.
  5. 5
    Followed by to, or (Scotland, obsolete) on or upon: to have recourse to someone or something for assistance, support, etc.; to appeal, to resort, to turn to.
  6. 6
    Synonym of recurse (“to execute a procedure recursively”).
  7. 7
    Often in the form recurring following a number: of a numeral or group of numerals in a decimal fraction: to repeat indefinitely.
  8. 8
    Followed by into or to: to go to a place again; to return.
  9. 9
    Followed by into or to: To go back to doing an activity, or to using a thing; to return.
  10. 10
    Followed by to: to go to a place; to resort.
  11. 11
    Followed by from: to move or run back from something; to recede, to withdraw.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how recur appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The theme of the prodigal son recurs later in the third act.
  2. For it is manifeſt, that all the Arguments that are brought Chap. 2, Sect. 3. vvill recur vvith full force in this place.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin recurrō (“to hurry or run back; to return, revert”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘back, backwards’) + currō (“to hasten, hurry; to move, travel; to run”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”)). cognates * Anglo-Norman recurre, recorre (“to have recourse to”) * Catalan recórrer * Italian ricorrer * Old French recourir (Middle French recourir; modern French recourir (“to have recourse to; to run again; to run back”)) * Old Occitan recorre * Portuguese recorrer * Spanish recorrer

Antonyms

digress

This word in other languages

repetirse(Español)réapparaître(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ercur
  • rceur
  • reccur
  • recru
  • recurr
  • reucr
  • rrecur

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of recur - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ercur2rceur2reccur1recru2recurr1reucr2rrecur1
Edit distance from "recur"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "recur"?
"recur" is spelled R-E-C-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɪˈkɜː/.
What does "recur" mean?
As a verb, "recur" means: Of an event, situation, etc.: to appear or happen again, especially repeatedly.
What words are commonly confused with "recur"?
"recur" is commonly confused with "Reus", "refer", "revue". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "recur"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "recur" is /ɹɪˈkɜː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "recur"?
Learned borrowing from Latin recurrō (“to hurry or run back; to return, revert”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘back, backwards’) + currō (“to hasten, hurry; to move, travel; to run”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”)). cognates *... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "recur", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

rajah#44,432Ricks#44,457Salas#44,469Sanaa#44,471

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

sault7 variantsSitka7 variantspadma7 variantsOfcom7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list