recursion
Americannoun
noun
-
the act or process of returning or running back
-
logic maths the application of a function to its own values to generate an infinite sequence of values. The recursion formula or clause of a definition specifies the progression from one term to the next, as given the base clause f (0) = 0, f ( n + 1) = f ( n ) + 3 specifies the successive terms of the sequence f ( n ) = 3 n
Other Word Forms
- recursive adjective
Etymology
Origin of recursion
1925–30; < Late Latin recursiōn- (stem of recursiō ) a running back, equivalent to recurs ( us ) ( recourse ) + -iōn- -ion
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
LLMs that eat too much of their own cooking are prone to model collapse, a symptom of the curse of recursion.
From Slate • Aug. 24, 2023
One speculation is that animals might use recursion to represent relationships within their social groups.
From Scientific American • Nov. 2, 2022
Even in the academy, fellow polymaths were bedazzled by the breadth of his boundless ruminations into metaphysics, modal logic, recursion theory, identity materialism and the ontological nature of numbers.
From New York Times • Sep. 21, 2022
This, called recursion, is what Mr Chomsky calls the language faculty “narrowly defined”.
From Economist • Oct. 5, 2017
There is a recursion here that is worth noting: like all proteins, DNA polymerase, the enzyme that enables DNA to replicate, is itself the product of a gene.*
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
