verb (used with object)
- to get back the equivalent of: to recoup one’s losses by a lucky investment.
- to regain or recover.
- to reimburse or indemnify; pay back: to recoup a person for expenses.
- Law. to withhold (a portion of something due), having some rightful claim to do so.
verb (used without object)
- to get back an equivalent, as of something lost.
- Law. to plead in defense a claim arising out of the same subject matter as the plaintiff’s claim.
noun
- an act of recouping.
verb
- to regain or make good (a financial or other loss)
- (tr) to reimburse or compensate (someone), as for a loss
- law to keep back (something due), having rightful claim to do so; withhold; deduct
1620s, from French recouper “to cut back” (12c.), from Old French re- “back” (see re-) + couper “to cut,” from coup “a blow” (see coup). Originally a legal term meaning “to deduct;” sense of “to recompense for loss or expense” first recorded 1660s. Related: Recouped; recouping.