recursion
- 01 C1 Advanced
the act of defining something by using the thing itself.
the process of defining an object, function, or concept in terms of itself, typically requiring a base case to prevent infinite loops.
Simple“The teacher used the Fibonacci sequence to explain the concept of recursion.”
In context“In formal logic, recursion allows for the construction of an infinite set of sentences from a finite set of rules and symbols.”
UsageOften used as an uncountable noun when discussing the abstract concept.
Synonymsself referenceiteration - 02 C1 Advanced
when a computer program calls or runs itself to solve a smaller part of a problem.
the invocation of a procedure or subroutine from within its own code block.
Simple“If you don't write a stop condition, the recursion will crash the program.”
In context“The algorithm uses recursion to traverse the complex tree structure, breaking the task into smaller, identical sub-problems.”
UsageCommonly used in the context of 'infinite recursion' to describe a bug where a process never ends.
Synonymsrecursive callAntonyms - 03 C2 Proficiency
the act of something happening again or repeating.
the act of recurring or returning; a repetition of an event or pattern.
Simple“The recursion of these themes in his novels shows his obsession with the past.”
In context“The constant recursion of seasonal patterns provided a sense of stability to the ancient agricultural society.”
Teacher's tipIn general English, 'recurrence' is much more common for events; 'recursion' is almost always reserved for technical or structural repetition.
SynonymsAntonyms
Borrowed from Latin recursiō (“the act of running back or again, return”), from recurrō (“run back; return”), from re- (“back, again”) + currō (“run”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.