recourse
noun/rɪˈkɔːs/
/ˈriːkɔːrs/
[uncountable] (formal)- the fact of having to, or being able to, use something that can provide help in a difficult situation
- Your only recourse is legal action.
- recourse to something The government, when necessary, has recourse to the armed forces.
- without recourse to something She made a complete recovery without recourse to surgery.
Extra Examples- Citizens have learned that they do have recourse against governments.
- Drivers have little recourse but to wait until the weather clears.
- I have no other recourse than to inform the police.
- She often had recourse to her dictionary.
- The mother of an illegitimate child had no legal recourse to the father.
- The study of these creatures has been conducted without direct recourse to living specimens.
- Their system of dispute resolution avoids recourse to the courts.
- There is no recourse available to the victim.
- They tried to settle the dispute without recourse to the courts.
- a charity for women with no recourse to public funds
- people who deal with emotional pain by recourse to drugs and alcohol
- workers who have no recourse to trade unions
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- constant
- frequent
- limited
- …
- have
- seek
- avoid
- …
- by recourse to
- with (no) recourse to
- without recourse to
- …
- recourse available to somebody
Word Originlate Middle English (also in the sense ‘running or flowing back’): from Old French recours, from Latin recursus, from re- ‘back, again’ + cursus ‘course, running’.Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
recourse