From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishrecoverre‧cov‧er /rɪˈkʌvə $ -ər/ ●●● W2 AWL verb 1 [intransitive] to get better after an illness, accident, shock etc After a few days of fever, she began to recover.recover from He’s in hospital, recovering from a heart attack.GrammarRecover is never transitive in this meaning. You say: I’ve recovered from my cold. ✗Don’t say: I’ve recovered my cold.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say someone gets better rather than recovers, especially when talking about less serious illnesses, injuries, or operations.Don’t worry. You’ll soon get better.2 [intransitive] to return to a normal condition after a period of trouble or difficulty The tourist industry is recovering to pre-war levels.recover from Yesterday morning shares seemed to recover from Monday’s collapse.3 [transitive]GET to get back something that was taken from you, lost, or almost destroyed Four paintings stolen from the gallery have been recovered.recover something from something Two bodies were recovered from the wreckage.4 [transitive]GET to get back an amount of money that you have spent or lost SYN recoup He was entitled to recover damages from the defendants.5 [transitive]RECOVER/GET BETTER to get back an ability, a sense, or control over your feelings, movements etc after a period without it SYN regain It was some hours before she recovered consciousness. Once she stumbled, but somehow she recovered her balance and carried on running.recover yourself He recovered himself enough to speak calmly. —recoverable adjectiveTHESAURUSrecover to become healthy again after you have been seriously ill or injured, or had a bad experienceMy mother’s been very ill, and she’s still in hospital recovering.She needed time to recover from the shock.get better to recover from an injury or illness. In everyday English, people usually say get better rather than recoverI hope you get better soon.My back’s been quite bad recently, but it’s getting better slowly.get over something to recover from a bad experience, or a minor illness. In everyday English, people usually say get over rather than recoverShe never got over his death. I’m getting over my cold.get well to recover from an illness or operation – used especially when you are writing to encourage someone to recoverGet well soon – we all miss you!I hope you get well quickly.be back on your feet to have recovered and be able to live life as usual againIt may take a week or two until you’re back on your feet.It’s great to see you back on your feet!be on the mend to be showing definite signs of recovering after an illness or injuryI’m glad to see you’re on the mend again.Kathy’s been quite ill with flu, but she seems to be on the mend now.recuperate formal to spend time resting and getting your health or energy back, after you have had an illness or had a difficult or tiring experienceIt had been a hard year, and I needed a few weeks in the sun in order to recuperate.He is recuperating from a heart attack.convalesce /ˌkɒnvəˈles $ ˌkɑːn-/ formal to spend a long period of time recovering from a serious illness, especially by resting in a comfortable or warm placeShe was at home convalescing after major surgery. → See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
recover• My mother's been very ill, and is still in hospital recovering.• The Eagles had a 37-20 lead at halftime, and the Broncos couldn't recover.• The informant was arrested the next day and most of the money was recovered.• Losing my job was a terrible blow, and it took me quite a while to recover.• Sammy needed to recover a little before they could move him to a hospital nearer his home.• Police said 21 bodies had been recovered as by last night and the final toll would not be clear until today.• His daughter, however, is still finding it difficult to recover from her traumatic assault in New York.• It was several months before John had fully recovered from his heart attack.• It took a long time for the British economy to recover from the effects of the war.• He never really recovered from the operation.• Mark never really recovered from the shock of his father's death.• A number of bodies were recovered from the wreckage.• Larkin said Nutrition For Life shares could recover further if the company reports better-than-expected earnings later this month.• It took the rest of the winter for her to recover her health.• The bank is planning to sue the company in order to try and recover it's money.• Edmonton recovered less than half its total annual costs from electricity sales last year, as you say.• Doctors say she will recover quickly.• Punk music has not recovered since.• Wages were pitiful and despite recovering somewhat in certain sectors in the last years before the war, they remained very low.• The company hopes to recover the cost of developing their new product.• He never recovered the use of his legs.recover from• It will take several months for Boyle to recover from the knee injury.• The economy has not yet recovered from the recession.recover damages• Why should the Purchaser have to complete and then try to recover damages?• Unless the injured student was very young, this would usually prevent him or her from recovering damages against a negligent teacher.• There the widow was recovering damages for the death of the original victim of the defendant's negligence.• If there are any problems it wishes to recover damages from the Vendor.• He pointed to victims who would have been unable to recover damages had the bill been law.recovered consciousness• He never recovered consciousness and died that evening.From Longman Business Dictionaryrecoverre‧cov‧er /rɪˈkʌvə-ər/ verb1[intransitive] to increase or improve after falling in value or getting worseIts shares plunged at the start of trading, but recovered to close only slightly down.2[transitive]FINANCE to get back money that you have spent or lostThe firm sued Mr Yasutomi and has recovered about one-third of its loss.3[transitive] to get back something that was stolen, lost, or almost destroyedThe FBI recovered over 100 stolen items from his apartment.4recover damages/costsLAW to be paid money by order of a court of lawTo recover damages against a teacher, a student must be able to show that it was the teacher’s negligence that caused the injury.5[transitive] if someone recovers oil, gold etc, they take it from under the ground or seaThey plan to recover 35 million barrels of oil from the two fields over six years.→ See Verb tableOrigin recover (1200-1300) Old French recovrer, from Latin recuperare; → RECUPERATE 