Is a plaintiff entitled to recover the "recoverable costs" incurred in prosecuting and defending an action?

16 We preliminarily note that the term "costs" is employed by litigants and courts alike in reference to a wide variety of expenditures. In California, as in most American jurisdictions, the prevailing party in litigation is not entitled to recover its expenses incurred in prosecuting or defending an action, except as specifically provided by statute (See generally, Miller v. Honda Motor Co. (1986) 184 Cal.App.3d 1014, 1018, 229 Cal.Rptr. 523.). We refer to these expenses as "recoverable costs."