reclamation

noun

rec·​la·​ma·​tion ˌre-klə-ˈmā-shən 

: the act or process of reclaiming: such as

a

: reformation, rehabilitation

b

: restoration to use : recovery

Synonyms

• recapture
• recoupment
• recovery
• repossession
• retrieval

Examples of reclamation in a Sentence

pumped water out of the field as part of the land reclamation program designed to provide farmers with more farmland

Recent Examples on the Web

The rally, like the campaign itself, was an act of reclamation. —Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2024

Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room (2015) saw a group of young punks fight for survival against a gang of neo-Nazi skinheads in a reclamation of punk, not only as a music genre but as a lifestyle. —Richard Newby, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Oct. 2024

There is also the redrawing of an island’s outlines by land reclamation: the transformation of an area of water into new land, often by filling the area with sand. Plans to reclaim this beach park were first announced a year before Singapore’s independence in 1964, when my father was a child. —Zining Mok, Longreads, 22 Oct. 2024

From her haircare line to her reclamation of the country music genre, her ventures boldly enter spaces ripe for transformation. —Shivani Vora, Forbes, 4 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French réclamation, from Latin reclamation-, reclamatio, from reclamare

First Known Use

1633, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

reclamation

noun

rec·​la·​ma·​tion ˌrek-lə-ˈmā-shən 

: the act or process of reclaiming : the state of being reclaimed

Legal Definition

reclamation

noun

rec·​la·​ma·​tion ˌre-klə-ˈmā-shən 

1

: the act or process of reclaiming

the reclamation of goods delivered to an insolvent buyer

2

: a right to reclaim (as under commercial law)