recount
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to relate or narrate; tell in detail; give the facts or particulars of.
- Synonyms:
- describe
-
to narrate in order.
-
to tell one by one; enumerate.
verb
Synonym Usage
See relate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
have recountedperfect
-
has recountedperfect 3rd person singular
-
has been recountingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
am recountingprogressive 1st person singular
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are recountingprogressive
-
have been recountingperfect progressive
-
is recountingprogressive 3rd person singular
-
recountingparticiple
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recountssingular 3rd person
Past
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had recountedperfect
-
was recountingprogressive singular
-
were recountingprogressive plural
-
had been recountingperfect progressive
-
recountedparticiple
-
recountedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of recount
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English recounten, from Middle French reconter, equivalent to re- + conter “to tell, count.” See re-, count 1
Explanation
As a verb, recount can mean either "tell the story of" or "add up again." As a noun, recount usually refers to the second (or third or fourth) tallying of votes in a close election. The word count comes from the old French conter, which means "add up" or "tell a story." Here's a story to recount (narrate): In an election featuring Count Dracula and Count Johnson, Dracula wins by two votes, so Johnson demands a recount (an adding up of the votes again). The officials recount (count again) the votes, and this time find Count Johnson the winner. Dracula threatens to bite the officials and they quickly change their minds.
Vocabulary lists containing recount
Vocabulary of the Common Core
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Electoral Elocution: The Verbiage of Voting
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List 8
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They have to rely on patients to recount their medical histories or wait hours or even days for another clinician to send a DVD, a fax — or a photocopy.
From MarketWatch • May 4, 2026
Sometimes "the silence after someone dies can be huge", Ball says, but doulas can sit with the bereaved and recount those last few days.
From BBC • May 2, 2026
In interviews, my colleagues and I heard people recount the moment they realized their marriage was over and the anxiety of a retirement they never expected to navigate alone.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026
But now I could recount it all with ease, even with laughter.
From Slate • Mar. 29, 2026
“The old men of the band were wont to gather about the campfires in a reminiscent mood and there recount the tales of prowess on the war-path and in the chase.”
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
