Definition of recoursenext
as in opportunity
something that one uses to accomplish an end especially when the usual means is not available a toddler quickly learns that a tantrum is a surefire recourse when a polite request for something is met with parental indifference

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of recourse Some claimed they were betrayed or misled by their clinics but felt their only recourse was to write a bad online review. — Trisha Thadani Kirsten Potter Tanya Pérez Devin Murphy, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026 The days of allowing Curry and Draymond Green to give away possessions with no recourse are over. — Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 28 Sep. 2026 Challenged on all sides, Hansen finds that his only recourse is to throw himself, with ever more frenzied self-seriousness, into his work. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2026 People arrested at these checkpoints have virtually no legal recourse and many young men have subsequently been forced into the military. — Andrew Nachemson, The Dial, 22 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for recourse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for recourse
Noun
  • In the 1950s, bluestripe snapper, also known in Hawai’i by its Tahitian name, ta’ape, was introduced to O’ahu, when roughly 3,000 fish were released to bolster fishing opportunities and establish a new food source.
    — Victoria Malloy, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The opportunity now is to build on these lessons through closer cooperation across governments, industry, technology and capital in order to create energy systems that can perform reliably as demand and complexity continue to grow.
    — H.E. Dr Abdulla Saif Al Jarwan, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Beirut's private-press scene has little in common with the studio culture of ’80s Tokyo, where an abundance of resources and technology filtered the same foreign influences into something more perfect and polished.
    — Shy Clara Thompson, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Patching up an outdated, aging infrastructure — like decades-old HVAC, electrical systems and leaking roofs — is a costly, short-term fix that drains our resources and ends up costing the community more.
    — Daily Southtown, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Recourse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recourse. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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