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Technical Vocabularynoun · /dɪˈzɑːstər rɪˈkʌvəri/

disaster recovery

In simple English

Disaster recovery (often abbreviated as DR) is a comprehensive approach to preparing for and responding to critical system failures, whether caused by hardware failure, cyberattacks, natural disasters, or human error. In tech companies, disaster recovery planning involves identifying critical systems, defining recovery objectives (like RTO and RPO), and documenting step-by-step procedures to restore operations quickly. This is different from backup, which is just copying data — disaster recovery is the entire process of getting systems back online and operational. Companies regularly conduct disaster recovery drills and tests to ensure their plans actually work when needed. The term appears frequently in infrastructure, operations, and business continuity discussions.

Users want to understand what disaster recovery is, how to plan it, and why it matters for business continuity.

At a glanceCEFR C1
Commonness4/5
Versatility4/5
FormalityCasualFormalFormal
Spoken ↔ WrittenSpokenWrittenBoth
Directness ↔ DiplomaticDirectDiplomaticNeutral
RegionUS and UK
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Say it like this

✓We need to test our disaster recovery plan quarterly.
✓The disaster recovery process took three hours to complete.
✓Our disaster recovery strategy includes multi-region redundancy.

Real examples

in a standup

"The database went down yesterday, but we executed our disaster recovery procedures and were back online within two hours."

in a code review

"Before merging this feature, we should review the disaster recovery implications and update our runbook."

in a team meeting

"Our disaster recovery plan targets a four-hour RTO for all critical services."

Don't say this

Handle with care. Do not use as a verb (avoid saying 'to disaster recovery'). It is a noun phrase. Also, do not confuse with 'backup' — disaster recovery is the entire plan and process, not just data backup.

✕We need to disaster recovery the system immediately.
✓We need to activate the disaster recovery plan immediately.— Disaster recovery is a noun phrase describing a plan or process, not a verb. You activate, execute, or implement a disaster recovery plan.
✕Our disaster recovery is just daily backups.
✓Our disaster recovery plan includes daily backups, redundant servers, and tested failover procedures.— Disaster recovery is broader than backups alone. It encompasses strategy, infrastructure, procedures, and testing.
✕We will disaster recovery if something goes wrong.
✓We will follow our disaster recovery procedures if something goes wrong.— Do not use disaster recovery as a verb. Instead, say 'follow the disaster recovery procedures' or 'activate the disaster recovery plan.'

Other forms

noun

disaster recovery

"Implementing a robust disaster recovery strategy is essential for any production system."

adjective

disaster recovery (used attributively)

"The disaster recovery team was called in to manage the outage."

Often used with

disaster recovery planThe most common phrase. Refers to the documented strategy and procedures for recovery.
disaster recovery drillA test or simulation of the disaster recovery plan to ensure it works correctly.
disaster recovery siteA secondary facility where systems can be restored if the primary location fails.
disaster recovery testingRegular validation of disaster recovery procedures to identify gaps or issues.
activate disaster recoveryTo put the disaster recovery plan into action during an actual incident.
disaster recovery RTORecovery Time Objective — the maximum acceptable downtime before systems must be restored.

Similar words

business continuityBroader term that includes disaster recovery but also covers operational resilience and contingency planning.
failoverA specific mechanism within disaster recovery that automatically switches to backup systems.
incident recoverySometimes used interchangeably, though disaster recovery is more formal and structured.

Opposites

system failuredata lossdowntime

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Practice

Try it

4 quick exercises

Pick the most natural phrasing

1. Your production database crashed. How do you communicate it to your manager?

Complete the sentence

2. The company conducts a _______ every quarter to ensure all critical systems can be restored quickly.

Spot the mistake

3. Which sentence uses disaster recovery incorrectly?

Rewrite naturally

4. Rewrite this sentence using 'disaster recovery': 'When the main system goes down, we have a plan to get everything back up and running within four hours.'

Questions

Quick poll

Have you said "disaster recovery" in a standup this week?

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