R and R is a term first used by the military to stand for rest and rehabilitation. Most people mistranslate it as rest and relaxation, or rest and recreation. It is in such common usage, that one can really use R and R to mean any of the above. However, a soldier would use it in a formal sense to translate to rest and rehabilitation.

The military translation of R and R does not mean that soldiers may do much rehabilitating on a typical leave. However, most soldiers benefit from the rehabilitative process of mixing with civilians, and taking a break from the tense conditions that serving in the armed forces sometimes engenders.

For some in the military, R and R may cause problems. For example, sailors often have a very difficult time adjusting to life onshore because of their cramped and confined living conditions while at sea. R and R can actually provide no rest because soldiers may go through a few days adjustment to the wide-open freedom allowed by being on land.

For those not in the military, R and R is often used to refer to taking a vacation or participating in something fun. For example, a worker takes a few days of to play golf, and says to his buddies, “I’ve got three days of R and R coming up.”

R and R doesn’t always provide the needed break from the working environment. A single working mother, who uses her R and R time to clean her house, take care of her kids, and do all the shopping, is not usually benefiting from any R and R time she receives. Her family may benefit from such, but essentially the mom is still working.

R and R as an acronym can stand for multiple other definitions. Among them are Rock and Roll, Read and Review, Remove and Replace, Repair and Return, and Rules and Regulations. In prison terminology R and R stands for the Receiving and Release of prisoners. In the business world R and R is an acronym used by human resource departments to refer to Recruitment and Retention.

Organizations, like FEMA, that help during natural disasters use R and R for Response and Recovery. Computer techs may use the acronym to describe Remove and Reinstall. Further, statisticians use R and R to mean Repeatability and Reliability.