recommendation
Americannoun
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recommendations
plural
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an act of recommending.
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a letter or the like recommending a person or thing.
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representation in favor of a person or thing.
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anything that serves to recommend a person or thing, or induce acceptance or favor.
noun
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the act of recommending
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something that recommends, esp a letter presenting someone as suitable for a job, etc
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something that is recommended, such as a course of action
Usage
Spelling tips for recommendation The word recommendation is hard to spell because it is tricky to know whether the c, the m, and/or the d is doubled. How to spell recommendation: The easiest way to remember how to spell recommend is to break it into three parts: re - com - mend - ation. You can keep the first three sections in mind with the sentence: "I recommend that you rely commonly on mending." The suffix -ation is used to indicate nouns of action and appears in many other words, like starvation and regulation.
Synonym Usage
See advice.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of recommendation
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English recommendacion, from Medieval Latin recommendātiōn-, stem of recommendātiō, from recommendāt(us) (past participle of recommendāre; see recommend) + -iō -ion
Explanation
If you give someone a recommendation, you're saying, "try this, it's good" or "this is the best way to proceed," or "this person will do a great job." The noun recommendation stems from the Middle Latin word recommend, meaning "praise" or "present as worthy." Policy makers have made a strong recommendation to implement renewable energy initiatives to alleviate our dependence on fossil fuels. It used to be that you carried a letter of recommendation from a prominent person and used it as an introduction to polite society in an unfamiliar place, but nowadays, such a letter simply explains why someone is qualified for a particular job or school.
Vocabulary lists containing recommendation
CTE Cosmetology (Milady), Vocabulary from Part 1
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Conventions, Writing, and Speaking & Listening, Unit 1
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"Modern Automotive Technology," Vocabulary from Section 7
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
On both occasions BTP's formal written recommendation was that Levy be remanded in custody.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Paul, the committee's chairman, has indicated he intends to send the panel's recommendation straight to the Justice Department, which can decide whether to take the case.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
In 2022, bestselling writer Isaac Fitzgerald, who recently released the anticipated “American Rambler: Walking the Trail of Johnny Appleseed,” witnessed the power of a Jeselnik recommendation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Many schools review applications for accuracy but tend to dig deeper only when something seems off, such as if a student’s essay mentions an award-winning robotics team but the recommendation letters don’t.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Now, if you need a recommendation, you can’t go wrong with the banana-and-peanut-butter shake.
From "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
The court, though, did acknowledge that social media also has benefits and didn’t go as far as ordering Meta to change its algorithm and recommendations because it affects content on the platform.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
However, there are still no confirmed sources at this time, making it difficult for health officials to make clear recommendations about what’s safe to eat.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
In his ruling, New Mexico Judge Bryan Biedscheid also noted that teenagers are particularly susceptible to features that are designed to boost engagement such as autoplay, infinite scrolling, like counts, push notifications and algorithmic recommendations.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
She still praised computing facilities themselves as a “really good economic tool” and noted that the Qualified Data Center Task Force was working to outline recommendations on how PGC should approach hyperscale centers going forward.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
“Okay, we had several recommendations, so let’s give it a go-round—” “Oh, come on,” Frypan said.
From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
