Definition of "recidivism" [re•cid•i•vism]

• A tendency to recidivate. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The very least we can do to reduce recidivism is not slap a penalty on to people the moment they are released."
• "The statistics on what is called recidivism, i.e. sliding back into old eating and exercise patterns, are clear."
• "What we know about recidivism is around the age of 30 or so, most males, which are predominately the people in these systems, drop in terms of their risk."