recite
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to recite a lesson or part of a lesson for a teacher.
-
to recite or repeat something from memory.
verb
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to repeat (a poem, passage, etc) aloud from memory before an audience, teacher, etc
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(tr) to give a detailed account of
-
(tr) to enumerate (examples, etc)
Related Words
See relate.
Other Word Forms
- prerecite verb (used with object)
- recitable adjective
- reciter noun
- unrecited adjective
- well-recited adjective
Etymology
Origin of recite
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English reciten, from Latin recitāre “to read aloud,” equivalent to re- + citāre “to summon”; re-, cite 1
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.
Once, during a demonstration outside a cafeteria, as police were about to arrest the demonstrators, Jackson suggested they kneel and recite the Lord’s Prayer.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2026
Guan Yin Citta describes its goals as encouraging "people to recite Buddhist scriptures, practise life liberation and make great vows to help more people".
From Barron's • Feb. 11, 2026
I don’t know whether they can recite the language of the Fourth Amendment.
From Slate • Feb. 3, 2026
Having been to a Catholic school, he knew how to cross himself and recite prayers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026
People tend to speak of them with reverence, and students may even be required to memorize and recite key passages.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
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.
