reclaim
rih-KLAYM
/rɪˈkleɪm/
To retrieve or recover something for useful cultivation or state.
Implies taking something that was wasted, ruined, or abandoned and making it productive again.
The story behind the word. In medieval Europe, 'reclaiming' was a term used in falconry. It comes from the Latin 'reclamare', meaning 'to cry out against' or 'to call back.' A falconer would 'reclaim' a wild hawk by calling it back to their hand. Today, we use it to describe calling back waste materials or ruined land into productive use.
Word relationships
- recover: Recover is a general term for getting something back, while reclaim specifically implies restoring something to a useful, productive state.
- salvage: Salvage usually refers to saving items from a disaster (like a shipwreck or fire), while reclaim refers to restoring land or materials over time.
- abandon: Abandon means to leave behind or give up completely, the opposite of reclaiming.
Commonly confused with
- recycle: Recycling breaks down materials to make new products; reclaiming often refers to restoring land, water, or large structures to a usable state.
Word family
- reclamation (noun): The act of returning something to a useful state.
- reclaimable (adjective): Capable of being reclaimed.
Collocations
- reclaim land
- reclaim water
- reclaim materials
- reclaim waste
Example sentences
- "The city plans to reclaim the abandoned industrial wasteland and transform it into a vibrant public park." Urban renewal project report
- "By using advanced filtration, we can reclaim wastewater for agricultural irrigation and industrial cooling." Water conservation brochure
Memory hook
RE- (again) + CLAIM -> claiming back what was lost to the waste pile. Claiming it back.
When not to use
Do not use if you are simply borrowing or taking back an item you lent; use 'retrieve' or 'get back' instead.
Fun facts
- Much of the country of the Netherlands was literally reclaimed from the North Sea using a complex system of dikes and windmills.
Related words
Explore more words
reclamation, retrieve, salvage, remediate, rehabilitate, cultivate
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