recurring
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- recurringly adverb
- unrecurring adjective
Etymology
Origin of recurring
Explanation
Something recurring happens over and over. When you have a recurring cough, it could be something serious, like bronchitis. This is a word for things that keep popping up or returning, like flowers are a recurring subject of the artist Georgia O’Keefe’s paintings. Recurring lateness is a habit your teacher or boss won’t tolerate. Lots of people have recurring health problems, such as back pain or sore knees. A guest character on a TV show who shows up once in awhile is a recurring character: they just keep coming back.
Vocabulary lists containing recurring
List 8
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Number the Stars
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Vocabulary to Describe Literary Devices
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After graduating in 1991, he landed a recurring role as Jeffrey Hunter on the high school sitcom Saved By the Bell.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
Shares of Salesforce also have fallen around 30% this year, for instance, even as annual recurring revenue from its Agentforce AI platform jumped 82% to $800 million over the last six months.
From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026
He played the recurring villain Richard Hart on the primetime soap “Melrose Place” for three seasons beginning in 1995.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2026
He said that he’d been having a recurring nightmare.
From Slate • Apr. 19, 2026
He continued to have recurring attacks of malaria and painful abscesses in his leg.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.