Recurring means happening again and again, usually in a pattern or at regular intervals. A recurring dream is one you have multiple times, perhaps showing up every few months with the same strange scenario. A recurring problem keeps coming back even after you think you've solved it, like a leak that starts dripping again whenever it rains.

The word often describes things that repeat on a schedule. A recurring meeting happens at the same time each week, like your Wednesday piano lesson. A recurring subscription charges your account automatically every month. Some TV shows have recurring characters who appear in multiple episodes but aren't in every single one.

Recurring is different from simply repeating once or twice. It suggests something that establishes a pattern of coming back. If you forget your homework one day, that's a mistake. If you forget it every week, it's a recurring issue your teacher will want to address. Scientists look for recurring patterns in nature, like the way certain flowers bloom every spring or how comets return to our part of the solar system on predictable schedules. When something is recurring, you can usually expect it to happen again.