Definition

1. Verb:
   • To regain or recover something lost, especially money: To get back an amount of money that you have spent or lost.
   • To reimburse or compensate someone for a loss: To pay someone back for money they have lost or spent.
   • (Legal/Finance) To withhold or deduct a part from a payment: To keep back a sum of money from a payment that is due, often to cover a previous loss or expense.

Usage and Examples

• To regain money or losses:
  • The company hopes to recoup its investment within three years.
  • After a bad season, the team needed a winning streak to recoup its standing in the league.
• To compensate someone:
  • The insurance policy will recoup you for any stolen goods.
  • He was fully recouped for the damages to his property.
• To deduct or withhold:
  • The landlord recouped the repair costs from the tenant's security deposit.

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• "recoup losses": A very common collocation meaning to get back money that was lost.
  • It took them a decade to recoup the losses from the failed venture.
• "recoup costs/expenses": To recover money that was spent.
  • The festival aims to recoup its costs through ticket sales.
• Reflexive use: "to recoup oneself": (Less common, somewhat formal) To recover one's losses or get back to a previous financial position.
  • After the financial setback, he needed time to recoup himself.

Variants and Related Words

• Recoupment (noun): The act of recouping or the amount recouped.
  • The recoupment of expenses was slower than expected.

Synonyms

• Recover: To get back something lost.
• Regain: To obtain possession or use of something again.
• Retrieve: To get or bring something back.
• Reimburse: To pay back money to someone.
• Compensate: To give someone money or something else to make up for a loss.

Antonyms

• Lose: To be deprived of or cease to have.
• Forfeit: To lose or be deprived of as a penalty.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• "recoup one's fortunes": To get back to a state of financial well-being after a loss.
  • He moved to the city to try and recoup his fortunes.
• "recoup from": To recover from a source.
  • The losses will be recouped from future profits.

Verb

1. retain and refrain from disbursing; of payments
   • My employer is withholding taxes
2. regain or make up for
   • recuperate one's losses
3. reimburse or compensate (someone), as for a loss