recovery

/riˈkʌvəri/

/rɛˈkʌvɛri/

Other forms: recoveries

The noun recovery refers to the process of healing after an illness or injury. Your recovery from your broken leg will go quicker if you keep off the leg. Use your crutches and definitely no skiing or hopscotch!

A recovery is when you save something that was lost, in danger of becoming lost, or retrieved. If something was taken from you, such as diamonds, money, or your dignity, and you get it back, you can say that you are glad for its recovery. The noun recovery also refers to a return to a natural or original state. After a devastating hurricane, an area's recovery may take many years.

Definitions of recovery

1. noun

   return to an original state
   “the recovery of the forest after the fire was surprisingly rapid”

   type of:

   advance, betterment, improvement

   a change for the better; progress in development
2. noun

   gradual healing (through rest) after sickness or injury
   synonyms: convalescence, recuperation

   types:

   lysis

   recuperation in which the symptoms of an acute disease gradually subside

   rally

   a marked recovery of strength or spirits during an illness

   type of:

   healing

   the natural process by which the body repairs itself
3. noun

   the act of regaining or saving something lost (or in danger of becoming lost)
   synonyms: retrieval

   types:

   repossession

   the action of regaining possession (especially the seizure of collateral securing a loan that is in default)

   reclamation

   the recovery of useful substances from waste products

   deliverance, delivery, rescue, saving

   recovery or preservation from loss or danger

   ransom

   the act of freeing from captivity or punishment

   recapture, retaking

   the act of taking something back

   lifesaving

   saving the lives of drowning persons

   redemption, salvation

   (theology) the act of delivering from sin or saving from evil

   reclamation, reformation

   rescuing from error and returning to a rightful course

   salvage

   the act of rescuing a ship or its crew or its cargo from a shipwreck or a fire

   salvage

   the act of saving goods or property that were in danger of damage or destruction

   salvation

   saving someone or something from harm or from an unpleasant situation

   search and rescue mission

   a rescue mission to search for survivors and to rescue them

   type of:

   act, deed, human action, human activity

   something that people do or cause to happen