recover

recover — verb

1. to become healthy again after being sick, hurt, or weak for a period of time — y

1.verbintransitiveB1
Definition

to become healthy again after being sick, hurt, or weak for a period of time — your body fixes itself and you feel normal again

Example

After two weeks in bed, Amelia had fully recovered from the flu.

recover + from + illness

The doctor said Rodrigo would need at least a month to recover after the surgery.

Common collocations
  • recover from surgery
  • recover from an illness
  • recover from an injury
  • recover slowly
  • recover fully
  • recover completely
Synonyms
  • get better

    informal; used in everyday conversation instead of 'recover'

  • heal

    focuses on the body repairing itself, often for wounds or broken bones

  • recuperate

    more formal; emphasises rest and the process of regaining strength

Antonyms
  • get worse

    the opposite direction — health deteriorates instead of improving

  • deteriorate

    more formal; used in medical contexts when a condition worsens

Grammar Patterns

recover + from + noun phrase

Usage Note

Subject must be a living creature (person or animal). For objects, places, or systems returning to normal, see sense 2 (BOUNCE BACK).

Common Mistakes

I hope you will recover from your sickness soon.
I hope you recover from your illness soon.
'sickness' is acceptable but 'illness' is more natural in this collocation with 'recover from'.
The doctor recovered the patient.
The patient recovered under the doctor's care.
'recover' is intransitive in this sense; you cannot 'recover someone' to mean 'cure someone'.

2. to go back to a good or normal condition after a difficult period — used when a

2.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

to go back to a good or normal condition after a difficult period — used when a business, economy, team, or relationship finds its way again after trouble

Example

The housing market has recovered from the crash much faster than experts expected.

market/economy + recover + from + crisis

Tomás lost the first set but recovered to win the match in five sets.

Common collocations
  • recover from a crisis
  • recover from a setback
  • recover from a recession
  • recover from a defeat
  • market recovers
  • economy recovers
Synonyms
  • rebound

    suggests a quick, strong return after a sharp drop; used in finance and sports

  • rally

    used in markets, sports, and politics — a late-stage recovery after a bad start

  • bounce back

    more informal; vivid image of springing back after being pushed down

Antonyms
  • decline

    the opposite movement — continuing to get worse instead of returning to normal

  • collapse

    a sudden and complete failure from which recovery may not happen

Grammar Patterns

recover + from + noun phrase

recover + from + -ing

Usage Note

Subject is typically an organisation, market, economy, team, or relationship — not a person's health (see sense 1). Frequently used in business and finance reporting.

Common Mistakes

The company recovered its losses quickly.
The company recovered from its losses quickly.
For a company returning to normal after losses, use 'recover from [loss/difficulty]'. 'Recover losses' (without 'from') means getting the money back (sense 3).

3. to have something again after losing it — whether money you spent, an object tha

3.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to have something again after losing it — whether money you spent, an object that was taken, a physical ability you lost, or emotional control that slipped away

Example

Nellie never recovered the money she lent to her former business partner.

recover + lost money

The police recovered the stolen paintings from a warehouse outside the city.

Common collocations
  • recover money
  • recover costs
  • recover stolen goods
  • recover consciousness
  • recover composure
  • recover confidence
  • recover sight
Synonyms
  • regain

    very close in meaning; 'regain' sometimes emphasises effort, while 'recover' can imply the thing comes back naturally

  • retrieve

    focuses on the act of going to get something and bringing it back; more active

Antonyms
  • lose

    the direct opposite — to no longer have something you once had

Grammar Patterns

recover + noun phrase

Usage Note

Unlike senses 1 and 2, this sense IS transitive — the subject actively retrieves something. The object can be concrete (money, stolen goods), physical/mental (consciousness, sight), or emotional (composure, confidence).

Common Mistakes

She recovered from her lost wallet.
She recovered her lost wallet.
When you get the physical object back, 'recover' is transitive with no 'from'.

4. in American football or rugby, to pick up or gain control of a loose ball during

4.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

in American football or rugby, to pick up or gain control of a loose ball during play before a player from the other team can get it

Example

Lucas recovered the fumble on the twenty-yard line and gave his team excellent field position.

A defender must be quick to recover a loose ball before the other side grabs it.

recover + a loose ball / fumble

Common collocations
  • recover a fumble
  • recover a loose ball
Synonyms
  • gain possession

    the official sports term; less common in everyday commentary but used in rule books

Grammar Patterns

recover + the ball / a fumble

5. to balance out a loss, delay, or shortfall through extra effort or resources — f

5.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to balance out a loss, delay, or shortfall through extra effort or resources — filling a gap that something negative created

Example

Hyun worked through the weekend to recover the time lost during the power outage.

recover + time lost

The team ran extra drills every morning to recover lost ground from the first month.

Common collocations
  • recover lost time
  • recover lost ground
  • recover income
Synonyms
  • make up for

    more common in everyday English; less formal than 'recover' in this sense

  • compensate for

    formal; can be used for financial or non-financial shortfalls

  • recoup

    usually financial; to get back money you spent or lost

Antonyms
  • waste

    opposite of using time/resources productively to close a gap

Grammar Patterns

recover + noun phrase (time, loss)

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 3: sense 5 is about compensating for a shortfall through effort or extra input, not about retrieving an actual object that was lost. The object is typically an abstract measurable quantity (time, ground, income, opportunity).

6. to collect useful materials from waste so they can be processed and used again,

6.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to collect useful materials from waste so they can be processed and used again, instead of being thrown away or destroyed

Example

The recycling plant recovers valuable metals like copper and aluminium from old electronics.

recover + material + from + waste source

Nearly half of the plastic from household waste can be recovered and turned into new products.

Common collocations
  • recover materials
  • recover metals
  • recover resources
  • recover energy
  • recover from waste
Synonyms
  • reclaim

    similar meaning; 'reclaim' often implies taking back something that was abandoned or going to waste

  • salvage

    saving something from destruction or waste, often in the context of a disaster or demolition

Antonyms
  • discard

    to throw away instead of recovering useful materials

Grammar Patterns

recover + material + from + source

Usage Note

Often used in environmental and manufacturing contexts. Distinguished from 'recycle' in that recovery focuses on extracting the raw material from a mixed or waste source, while recycling is the broader process of reprocessing materials into new products.

Word family

  • recovery
    nounB1
  • recoverable
    adjectiveB2
  • unrecoverable
    adjectiveC1
  • recuperate
    verbC1
  • recuperation
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words describe a return to health, but they differ in formality and focus. 'Recover' is the most general and neutral — it covers the entire process of returning to normal after any illness or injury. 'Get better' is informal and conversational, like something you would say to a friend ('I hope you get better soon'). 'Heal' focuses on the body repairing itself at the site of damage, especially for wounds, cuts, broken bones, or surgery scars — it is more specific than 'recover'. 'Recuperate' is more formal and emphasises the rest period during which a person regains strength after an illness or operation. For example: 'After the flu, Marco needed a week to recuperate at home.' 'The cut on her hand healed within a few days.' 'Liam is recovering well after breaking his leg.' When in doubt, 'recover' works in almost any situation.

recover ↗get betterheal ↗recuperate

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • on the road to recovery
  • make a full recovery
  • in the process of recovering

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinAnglo-FrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

'Recover' entered Middle English around the 1300s from Anglo-French 'recoverer', which came from Latin 'recuperare' — meaning 'to get back' or 'regain'. The Latin root breaks down into 're-' ('back, again') and 'capere' ('to take, seize'). So the original idea was 'to take back' or 'regain possession of'. Over time the meaning broadened from physical retrieval (getting back lost items) to include healing (regaining health) and recovery from any difficulty. The double-cover homograph 're-cover' (to cover again) is a separate word from the 1400s, not directly related.