English Reference
Noun

recapture

n. C / U
C1 Advanced US /ɹiˈkæptʃɝ/ UK /ɹɪkˈæptʃɐ/ re·cap·ture UK spelling recaptured, recaptures, recapturing Finance

n.the act of getting back money or value that was lost or spent. In business, it often means recovering a tax benefit or an investment over time.

n.the recovery of a previous financial outlay, tax benefit, or asset value. Often refers to the recovery of depreciation or tax credits when an asset is sold for more than its book value.


SIMPLE

The company expects a full recapture of its initial investment.

CONTEXTUAL

The government implemented a tax recapture provision to reclaim subsidies from businesses that moved operations abroad.

COMPLEX

Under current regulations, the recapture of depreciation occurs when the sale price of a property exceeds its adjusted tax basis, resulting in a taxable gain for the seller.

Usage

Often functions as an uncountable concept in tax law, but becomes countable when referring to specific instances or clauses.

Ukraine has declared the successful end of an operation in which it recaptured 745 square kilometres (287 square miles) of its territory this year in its southern region of Dnipropetrovsk.

Al Jazeera· 14 Aug 2026

If all else fails, they could hope for an inevitably disappointing film version that failed to recapture the onstage magic.

The Guardian· 13 Aug 2026

Common in culture and history writing


From re- + capture.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Frequent
Updated