French word

récupérer

Pronunciation

IPA/ʁekypeʁe/

Meaning

  • verbget back

Example

Il a réussi à récupérer sa montre volée.

He managed to get his stolen watch back.

Illustration for récupérer (get back)

More examples

Je dois récupérer mes enfants à l'école.

I have to pick up my children from school.

Core concept

A lost watch, right, or possession comes back into its owner's hands.

Common phrases

  • récupérer mes enfants à l'école

    pick up my children from school

  • récupérer la voiture

    go get the car

  • récupérer un colis

    collect a parcel

Similar words

retrouver: Find something lost or locate a missing person.
reprendre: Take back something previously held or given to someone else.
recevoir: Receive a gift, letter, or piece of information.
rendre: Return something given away or borrowed to its owner.

Definition in French

Reprendre en sa possession quelque chose qu'on avait perdu, laissé ou dont on avait été privé.

Word origin

Récupérer comes from Latin recuperare, meaning to get back or recover, and preserves that core sense in French.

Usage tips

  • Récupérer implies regaining something previously lost or taken, whereas recevoir simply means receiving something.

Other meanings

  • recoververb
  • pick upverb
  • collectverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word