Both words are most commonly used in the sense "happening time after time." But recurrent, the more commonly-used of the two, tends to appear more often in medical contexts, as in “recurrent fevers” …

RECURRENT definition: that recurs; occurring or appearing again, especially repeatedly or periodically. See examples of recurrent used in a sentence.

RECURRENT definition: 1. happening again many times: 2. A recurrent blood vessel or nerve turns back to run in the…. Learn more.

Define recurrent. recurrent synonyms, recurrent pronunciation, recurrent translation, English dictionary definition of recurrent. adj. 1. Occurring or appearing again or repeatedly.

A recurrent event or feeling happens or is experienced more than once. Race is a recurrent theme in the work. ...buildings in which staff suffer recurrent illness.

Definition of recurrent adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

Recurrent refers to something that occurs again after a period of interruption, or something that is repeated often or periodically. It can refer to events, behaviors, symptoms, or phenomena that …

There are ten meanings listed in OED's entry for the word recurrent, four of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

Recurrent means something that happens repeatedly. The word recurrent comes from a Latin word meaning "to return or come back." A recurrent dream, good or bad, keeps coming back. You'll hear …

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025 re•cur•rent (ri kûr′ ənt, -kur′ -), adj. that recurs; occurring or appearing again, esp. repeatedly or periodically. Anatomy, …