recline

American  

[ri-klahyn] / rɪˈklaɪn /

verb (used without object)

reclined, reclining

1. to lean or lie back; rest in a recumbent position.

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verb (used with object)

reclined, reclining

1. to cause to lean back on something; place in a recumbent position.

recline British  

/ rɪˈklaɪn, ˌrɛklɪˈneɪʃən /

verb

1. to rest or cause to rest in a leaning position

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Other Word Forms

• half-reclined adjective
• half-reclining adjective
• reclinable adjective
• reclination noun
• unreclined adjective
• unreclining adjective

Etymology

Origin of recline

1375–1425; late Middle English reclinen < Latin reclīnāre, equivalent to re- re- + clīnāre to lean ¹

Example Sentences

After a few minutes of standing ankle deep in the wet grass, looking at the egg, and listening to the peepers, he pulled one of his mother's reclining lawn chairs over to the towel.

From Literature

Covered in fractal patterns like “the symmetrical innards of a halved cabbage,” the giant humanoid insect reclines, “a god-sized man sleeping atop the quilt of the land.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Another Cambridge mathematician, Alan Turing, reclines in a chair with his feet up on a wooden table, staring at the ceiling.

From Literature

Eric Tung, a single dad and small-business owner in Los Angeles, dropped off his son at volleyball practice recently, reclined his seat and settled into Instagram.

From The Wall Street Journal

Door immediately slammed back into his seat to see if it reclined.

From Literature

Related Words

• loll
• lounge
• sprawl
• stretch out