Dictionary Definition

recursive adj : of or relating to a recursion

User Contributed Dictionary

Drawing upon itself.

the recursive nature of stories which borrow from each other
mathematics not comparable of an expression, each term of which is determined by applying a formula to preceding terms
computing not comparable of a program or function that calls itself

Example: the factorial function -

f(0) = 1
f(n) = n x f(n-1) for any natural number where n > 0
which can be computed by a theoretical model of a computer, in a finite amount of time
whose characteristic function is recursive (4)

drawing upon itself

mathematics: of an expression, in which each term is determined by applying a formula to preceding terms

computing: of a program or function that calls itself

computing: of a function which can be computed in a finite amount of time

computing: of a set whose characteristic function is recursive

Recursive may refer to:

recursive in French: Récursif