ETYM Pref. re- + cover: cf. French recouvrir.
1. To cover anew.
2. To get or find back; recover the use of; SYN. retrieve, find, regain.
3. To make up for or make good; SYN. recoup.
4. To regain a former condition; SYN. go back.

1. To return to a stable condition after some error has occurred. A program recovers from an error by stabilizing itself and resuming execution of instructions without user intervention.
2. To put back into a stable condition. A computer user may be able to recover lost or damaged data by using a program to search for and salvage whatever information remains in storage. A database may be recovered by restoring its integrity after some problem has damaged it, such as abnormal termination of the database management program.