# recur

> English word · Verb · IPA /ɹɪˈkɜː/ · frequency rank #44,442

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

## 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

## Easily confused with
- **Reus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/recur-vs-reus)
- **refer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/recur-vs-refer)
- **revue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/recur-vs-revue)
- **rerun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/recur-vs-rerun)
- **Remus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/recur-vs-remus)
- **redux** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/recur-vs-redux)
- **return** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/recur-vs-return)
- **rescue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/recur-vs-rescue)
- **rescuer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/recur-vs-rescuer)
- **rec** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rec-vs-recur)
- **rear** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rear-vs-recur)
- **racer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/racer-vs-recur)
- **recap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/recap-vs-recur)
- **recon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/recon-vs-recur)
- **Recep** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/recep-vs-recur)
- **rebut** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rebut-vs-recur)
- **rebar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rebar-vs-recur)
- **record** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/record-vs-recur)
- **rector** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/rector-vs-recur)
- **recoup** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/recoup-vs-recur)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ercur`, `rceur`, `reccur`, `recru`, `recurr`, `reucr`, `rrecur`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/recur