reclaim

views updated

re·claim / riˈklām/ • v. [tr.] 1. retrieve or recover (something previously lost, given, or paid); obtain the return of: he returned three years later to reclaim his title as director of advertising when Dennis emerged I reclaimed my room. ∎  redeem (someone) from a state of vice; reform: societies for reclaiming beggars and prostitutes. ∎ archaic tame or civilize (an animal or person).2. bring (waste land or land formerly under water) under cultivation: little money is available to reclaim and cultivate the desert| [as adj.] (reclaimed) reclaimed land. ∎  recover (material) for reuse; recycle: a sufficient weight of plastic could easily be reclaimed.• n. the action or process of reclaiming or being reclaimed: beyond reclaim.DERIVATIVES: re·claim·a·ble adj.re·claim·er n.rec·la·ma·tion / ˌrekləˈmāshən/ n.