Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
re·cur
\\ri-ˈkər\\ intransitive verb
(re·curred ; re·cur·ring) ETYMOLOGY Middle English recurren to return, from Latin recurrere, literally, to run back, from re- + currere to run — more at car
DATE 1529
1. to have recourse : resort
2. to go back in thought or discourse
on recurring to my letters of that date — Thomas Jefferson3.
a. to come up again for consideration
b. to come again to mind4. to occur again after an interval : occur time after time
the cancer recurred
•
re·cur·rence \\-ˈkər-ən(t)s, -ˈkə-rən(t)s\\
noun recur
mid-15c., from L. recurrere "to return, come back," from re- "back, again" + currere "to run" (see current). Originally of persons; application to thoughts, ideas, etc. is recorded from 1704.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7
recur
recur / ri5kE:(r) / verb (-rr-) [V]
to happen again or a number of times
再发生；反复出现:
This theme recurs several times throughout the book.
这一主题在整部书里出现了好几次。
a recurring illness / problem / nightmare, etc.
反复发作的疾病、反复出现的问题、一再出现的噩梦等
Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English
Oxford Collocations dictionary for students of Englishrecur
verb
ADV. constantly, frequently, regularly This is a constantly recurring problem which we must deal with.
VERB + RECUR be likely to | tend to
PREP. throughout a theme that recurs throughout the book
PHRASES keep recurring
Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged
re·cur
\
R rə̇ˈkər, rēˈ-, + V -kər.; -
R -kə̄, +
suffixal vowel -kər.
also -kə̄r, +
vowel in a word following without pause -kər.
or -kə̄
also -kə̄r\
intransitive verb
(
recurred ;
recurred ;
recurring ;
recurs)
Etymology: Middle English
recurren, from Latin
recurrere to run back, return, from
re- + currere to run — more at
current
1. : to return to a place or status
< may elect to recur to his nationality of parentage — W.E.Hall >2. : to have recourse
: go for help
: resort
< the dire necessity of recurring to arms in the face of … stubborn and stupid refusal to govern otherwise — Salvador de Madariaga >3. : to go back in thought or discourse
< in his conversations here he recurred to the plan he had outlined — C.G.Bowers >4. : to come up again for consideration
: confront one again
< a problem which has recurred to this day — G.G.Weigend >
< knew the difficulties would only recur >5. : to come again to mind
: return vividly to the memory
< he had forgotten it … but it recurred to him now — Archibald Marshall >6. : to happen, take place, or appear again
: occur again usually after a stated interval or according to some regular rule
< would the occasion ever recur — Van Wyck Brooks >
< by the light of each recurring full moon — G.W.Johnson > 7. : to repeat itself usually indefinitely in fixed periods of figures (as of a decimal)