# recursion

> English word · Noun · IPA /ɹɪˈkɜː(ɹ)ʒən/ · frequency rank #44,443

## Definitions
1. The act of recurring.
2. The act of defining an object (usually a function) in terms of that object itself.
3. The invocation of a procedure from within itself.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Latin recursiō (“the act of running back or again, return”), from recurrō (“run back; return”), from re- (“back, again”) + currō (“run”).

## Easily confused with
- **recursive** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/recursion-vs-recursive)
- **revulsion** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/recursion-vs-revulsion)
- **repulsion** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/recursion-vs-repulsion)
- **reversion** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/recursion-vs-reversion)
- **recession** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/recession-vs-recursion)

## Common misspellings (14)
`ercursion`, `rceursion`, `reccursion`, `recrusion`, `recurison`, `recurrsion`, `recursino`, `recursionn`, `recursoin`, `recurssion`, `recurtion`, `recusrion`, `reucrsion`, `rrecursion`

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