Recuperation is the process of recovering your strength and health after being sick, injured, or exhausted. When you stay home from school with the flu, those days of rest and sleep are your recuperation. Athletes need recuperation time after intense training or competitions so their muscles can repair themselves and rebuild.

The word emphasizes gradual healing rather than instant recovery. A broken bone needs weeks of recuperation. Someone recovering from surgery might spend days in the hospital for initial recuperation, then continue recuperating at home for weeks more. During recuperation, your body does the hard work of repairing itself while you rest and follow your doctor's advice.

You might also hear people talk about recuperating mentally after a stressful period, like needing a quiet weekend to recuperate after final exams. The related verb is recuperate: “She's recuperating at her grandmother's house” or “It took him two weeks to recuperate from that nasty cold.” Think of recuperation as your body's repair mode, the time when healing happens while you give yourself time to rest.