Recourse Definition
(1) the right of a holder in due course to demand payment from the maker or endorser of a negotiable instrument, or from prior endorsers, if the instrument is dishonored by the maker. (2) the acceptance, assumption or retention of some or all of the risk of loss associated with an asset owned by another party. (3) in the secondary mortgage market, recourse refers to a provision in a sales contract by which a mortgage seller agrees to buy back the loan if default and foreclosure occur. See with full recourse, without recourse, with partial recourse.