recycle

UK: /ˌriːˈsaɪk^əl/ US: /riˈsaɪkəl/ ,(rē sī′kəl)

Inflections of 'recycle' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

recycles

v 3rd person singular

recycling

v pres p

recycled

v past

recycled

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

re•cy•cle /riˈsaɪkəl/   v. [~ + object] , -cled, -cling. 

1. to treat or process (used or waste materials) so as to make suitable for reuse:
   to recycle newspapers, glass bottles, plastic, and metal.
2. to use again in the original form or with very little change:
   to recycle a speech.

re•cy•cla•ble /riˈsaɪkləbəl/  adj. See -cycle-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

re•cy•cle  (rē sī′kəl), v., -cled, -cling, n. 
v.t. 

1. to treat or process (used or waste materials) so as to make suitable for reuse:
   recycling paper to save trees.
2. to alter or adapt for new use without changing the essential form or nature of:
   The old factory is being recycled as a theater.
3. to use again in the original form or with minimal alteration:
   The governor recycled some speeches from his early days.
4. to cause to pass through a cycle again:
   to recycle laundry through a washing machine.

v.i. 

5. to pass through a cycle again;
   repeat a process from the beginning.
6. to undergo reuse or renewal;
   be subject to or suitable for further use, activity, etc.:
   The industry will recycle and become profitable once more.

n. 

7. the act or process of recycling.

• re- + cycle 1925–30

re•cy′cla•ble, adj. 
re•cy′cla•bil′i•ty, n. 
re•cy′cler, re•cy′clist, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

recycle / riːˈsaɪk^əl/ verb (transitive)

1. to pass (a substance) through a system again for further treatment or use
2. to reclaim (packaging or products with a limited useful life) for further use
3. to institute a different cycle of processes or events in (a machine, system, etc)
4. to repeat (a series of operations)

noun

1. the repetition of a fixed sequence of events

reˈcyclable, reˈcycleable adjective , noun