What does reclaimer mean?
A reclaimer is someone or something that reclaims, recovers, or restores material to useful service. The word can describe a person who brings neglected land, property, or another resource back into productive use, but it is also common for machinery that recovers reusable materials. In mineral processing, for example, a reclaimer may return valuable material to a processing stream; in recycling operations, the term can refer to equipment designed to separate and recover useful products. The sense should be understood from context because “reclaimer” is less common than the related verbs “reclaim” and “recover.” It is especially associated with technical, industrial, environmental, and legal language rather than everyday conversation. Although the word is sometimes used when describing a person who asserts an entitlement to property or money, its clearest modern application is to the recovery and reuse of materials.
nounA reclaimer is a person or device that recovers, retrieves, or restores something to use. The term is especially applied to equipment that recovers reusable materials, such as minerals, sand, or bottles.
- A person or device that reclaims, recovers, or retrieves something for reuse.
- A machine or installation used to recover materials, such as minerals, sand, or bottles.
"The new reclaimer helps the plant recover useful plastic from the sorting line."
"The land reclaimer returned the neglected field to productive use."
"Engineers replaced the old paper reclaimer with a more efficient system."
The plural is used when referring to multiple people or pieces of equipment that reclaim or recover material.
"Several battery reclaimers operate throughout the facility."
A reclaimer does what its name promises: it calls useful material back into use.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does reclaimer come from?
The word was formed in English by adding the agent suffix -er to the verb “reclaim.” “Reclaim” comes through Old French from Latin reclamare, a compound of re-, meaning “back,” and clamare, meaning “to call or cry out.” The same Latin foundation also produced related forms such as “reclamation” and “reclaimable.”
Related word forms
How reclaimer is actually used
The noun is relatively uncommon in general English and is most often used in technical, industrial, environmental, or legal contexts. It may denote either a person who restores or recovers something or a machine designed to do so.
Easily confused with reclaimer
A reclaimer is the person or machine that performs the act of reclaiming, whereas reclamation is the process of recovering something or the act of asserting a claim.