Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To get back (something lost or taken away), especially by making an effort.
  • intransitive verb To search for, find, and bring back.
  • intransitive verb To get back control or possession of (land) by military conquest or legal action.
  • intransitive verb To have (the use, possession, or control of something) restored.
  • intransitive verb To regain the use of (a faculty) or be restored to (a normal or usual condition).
  • intransitive verb To cause to be restored to a normal or usual condition.
  • intransitive verb To discover or be able to follow (a trail or scent) after losing it.
  • intransitive verb To procure (usable substances, such as metal) from unusable substances, such as ore or waste.
  • intransitive verb To bring (land) into or return to a suitable condition for use; reclaim.
  • intransitive verb To bring under observation again.
  • intransitive verb To regain a normal or usual condition, as of health.
  • intransitive verb To receive a favorable judgment in a lawsuit.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To cover again or anew. Sometimes written distinctively re-cover.
  • noun Recovery.
  • noun In boating, the movement of the body by which a rower reaches forward from one stroke in preparation for the next: as, the bow oar is slow in the recover.
  • In manufacturing, to save; keep what had formerly been thrown away: as, to recover the by-products in a gas-plant.
  • To regain; get or obtain again (after it has been lost).
  • To restore from sickness, faintness, or the like; cure; heal.
  • To repair the loss or injury of; retrieve; make up for: as, to recover lost time.
  • To rescue; save from danger.
  • To reach by some effort; get; gain; find; come to; return to.
  • To reconcile; reëstablish friendly relations with.
  • In law, to obtain by judgment in a court of law or by legal proceedings: as, to recover lands in ejectment; to recover damages for a wrong, or for a breach of contract.
  • In hunting, to start (a hare) from her cover or form.
  • To fetch; deal.
  • To restore to a previous state.
  • To recoup one's self.
  • Synonyms and To get back, repair, recruit, recuperate, reëstablish.
  • To regain health after sickness; grow well again: often followed by of or from.
  • To regain a former state or condition, as after misfortune or disturbance of mind: as, to recover from a state of poverty or depression. In this sense formerly and still sometimes used elliptically without from.
  • To come; arrive; make one's way.
  • To obtain a judgment at law; succeed in a lawsuit: as, the plaintiff has recovered in his suit.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Recovery.
  • transitive verb To cover again.
  • intransitive verb To regain health after sickness; to grow well; to be restored or cured; hence, to regain a former state or condition after misfortune, alarm, etc.; -- often followed by of or from
  • intransitive verb obsolete To make one's way; to come; to arrive.
  • intransitive verb (Law) To obtain a judgement; to succeed in a lawsuit.
  • transitive verb To get or obtain again; to get renewed possession of; to win back; to regain.
  • transitive verb To make good by reparation; to make up for; to retrieve; to repair the loss or injury of.
  • transitive verb To restore from sickness, faintness, or the like; to bring back to life or health; to cure; to heal.
  • transitive verb To overcome; to get the better of, -- as a state of mind or body.
  • transitive verb To rescue; to deliver.
  • transitive verb Archaic To gain by motion or effort; to obtain; to reach; to come to.
  • transitive verb (Law) To gain as a compensation; to obtain in return for injury or debt; ; to obtain title to by judgement in a court of law; ; to gain by legal process.
  • transitive verb (Mil. Drill) a command whereby the piece is brought from the position of “aim” to that of “ready.”

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To get back, regain (a physical thing lost etc.).
  • verb transitive To return to, resume (a given state of mind or body).

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English recoveren, from Old French recoverer, from Latin recuperāre; see recuperate.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Anglo-Norman recoverer and Old French recovrer, from Latin recuperare.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

re- +‎ cover.

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