Use can be frequent or seldom. They use alcohol, but they are not dependent or addicted to it. This refers to use that results in more serious consequences. For example, if someone occasionally uses cocaine, with no adverse effects, that can be considered use. For many people, the path does not stop there.
Recovery is a life-long effort, though.
Like the cancer patient who is in remission, there is always a chance for a recurrence. This is called relapse. For some people, recovery is a straightforward process, and they may never relapse . More commonly however, people in recovery relapse once, twice, even several times before achieving long-term sobriety. While as a family member you may see relapse as a sign of failure, relapse is the point when many substance abusers admit for the first time that they really have no control over the addiction and need to make some serious changes for recovery to be permanent.