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# recur

verb (recur, recurs, recurred, recurring)

«recur» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. To recur means to happen again, often more than once. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/recur/#m1)
2. (maths) A recurring decimal is a decimal in which a digit or group of digits repeats for ever, like 0.333… [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/recur/#m2)
3. To recur means to come back into your mind again, like a thought or a dream. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/recur/#m3)

### In the lessons

In maths it is used for decimals that never end: one third is 0.3 recurring. In health and safety it describes illnesses or problems that come back («a recurring headache»). In stories a recurring character or dream shows up again and again. Phrases: «recurring decimal», «0.6 recurring», «a recurring dream», «if the problem recurs».

### Examples

- One third written as a decimal is 0.3 recurring. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/recur/#x1)
- If the pain recurs, go back to the doctor. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/recur/#x2)
- The same mistake recurred in every one of his sums. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/recur/#x3)
- She had a recurring dream about flying over the sea. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/recur/#x4)
- Floods recur in that valley almost every spring. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/recur/#x5)
- Two thirds is 0.6 recurring, which we round to 0.67. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/recur/#x6)
- The idea kept recurring to him all through the lesson. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/recur/#x7)
- The villain is a recurring character in the cartoon. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/recur/#x8)
- Parallels.--The well-known story of the Pied Piper of Hameln (Hamelin), immortalised by Browning, will at once recur to every reader's mind. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/recur/#x9)

### Note

Double the r before -ed and -ing: recurred, recurring. Noun: recurrence. In maths, «recurring» (UK) = «repeating» (USA); a dot or bar over the digit shows it repeats. A recurring decimal never stops, so any written answer is rounded. Do not confuse with «occur» (happen once) — recur means happen again.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «recur» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/recur/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«recur» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/recur.html) on Mova free.