recalculate

American  

[ree-kal-kyuh-leyt] / riˈkæl kyəˌleɪt /

verb (used with object)

recalculated, recalculating

1. to calculate again, especially for the purpose of finding an error or confirming a previous computation.

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recalculate British  

/ riːˈkælkjʊˌleɪt /

verb

1. to calculate (a total, sum, etc) again

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Other Word Forms

• recalculation noun

Etymology

Origin of recalculate

First recorded in 1615–25; re- + calculate

Explanation

To recalculate is to count or measure something again, using new information. You might need to recalculate your monthly budget after your landlord raises the rent. If the vet says your cat is getting too fat, you'll have to recalculate how much you feed him to help him lose weight. And when you're planning a dinner party and your brother announces he's bringing five friends, you'll need to recalculate how much food to make. We can trace the verb calculate back to the Latin calculus, originally "pebble used as a reckoning counter." The prefix re- adds the sense of "do it again."

Example Sentences

“Anyone counting on a quick recovery, even if there is a total end of hostilities, will need to recalculate that.”

From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026

“Anyone who’s counting for a quick recovery, even if there is a total end of hostilities, will need to recalculate that.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

The Social Security Administration will eventually recalculate benefits to incorporate what it previously withheld for those earnings limitations, but the reductions for claiming early will remain.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 13, 2025

“If we are asked to leave, and after negotiations that’s the way it plays out, then we are going to have to recalculate and figure out a new way to do it,” Grady said.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 24, 2024

The major business of the evening, in all likelihood, was an agreement to recalculate Virginia's debt and corresponding share of the enlarged federal debt.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis