recruit
Americannoun
-
recruits
plural
-
a newly enlisted or drafted member of the armed forces.
-
a new member of a group, organization, or the like.
-
a fresh supply of something.
verb (used with object)
-
recruits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
recruited,
past participle, past
-
recruiting
present participle
-
to enlist (a person) for service in one of the armed forces.
-
to raise (a force) by enlistment.
-
to strengthen or supply (an armed force) with new members.
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to furnish or replenish with a fresh supply; renew.
-
to renew or restore (the health, strength, etc.).
-
to attempt to acquire the services of (a person) for an employer.
She recruits executives for all the top companies.
-
to attempt to enroll or enlist (a member, affiliate, student, or the like).
a campaign to recruit new club members.
-
to seek to enroll (an athlete) at a school or college, often with an offer of an athletic scholarship.
verb (used without object)
-
recruits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
recruited,
past participle, past
-
recruiting
present participle
-
to enlist persons for service in one of the armed forces.
-
to engage in finding and attracting employees, new members, students, athletes, etc.
-
to recover health, strength, etc.
-
to gain new supplies of anything lost or wasted.
verb
-
-
to enlist (men) for military service
-
to raise or strengthen (an army, navy, etc) by enlistment
-
-
(tr) to enrol or obtain (members, support, etc)
-
to furnish or be furnished with a fresh supply; renew
-
archaic to recover (health, strength, spirits, etc)
noun
-
a newly joined member of a military service
-
any new member or supporter
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
recruitsimple
-
recruitssimple
-
have recruitedperfect
-
has recruitedperfect
-
am recruitingprogressive
-
are recruitingprogressive
-
is recruitingprogressive
-
have been recruitingperfect progressive
-
has been recruitingperfect progressive
Past
-
recruitedsimple
-
had recruitedperfect
-
was recruitingprogressive
-
were recruitingprogressive
-
had been recruitingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of recruit
First recorded in 1635–45; from French, stem of recruter, derivative of recrue “new growth,” noun use of feminine past participle of recroître ( re- re- + croître, from Latin crēscere “to grow”; cf. crescent)
Explanation
To recruit means to get someone to join something. You might recruit people for the navy or you might recruit members for your quilting group. The verb recruit often refers to formally joining an organization or a group, such as the military or a corporation. It can also be used more broadly to refer to getting someone to participate in a cause, formal or otherwise, like when you recruit your friend to help paint your room. As a noun, recruit means "a person who has been recruited." If you just joined the Army, you're a new recruit.
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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:
USC is also leaning into artificial intelligence, with a $200-million gift from Nvidia board member Mark Stevens and his wife, Mary Stevens, meant to infuse AI across the campus and recruit AI researchers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
This modification was designed to recruit and stimulate nearby immune cells, including T cells, which can help mount a stronger attack against cancer.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
It is also looking to recruit foreign fighters to help its Yemeni allies, they said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Naung Yoe, meanwhile, told the BBC that "these practices are escalating due to increasing difficulties in meeting monthly recruitment quotas and the lucrative financial profits made from recruit trading at the ground level".
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
“But how do we know who we can trust? We need to recruit people.”
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
Chun-Li, played by Liang, recruits the pair to compete with other elite fighters in the World Warrior tournament, organised by crime boss M. Bison.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
Law firms are looking to improve their opening arguments to clients and potential recruits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
The decision comes as ICE is quietly shedding many of the 12,000 new recruits it hired last year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
In early 2025, Run For Something, an organization that recruits and trains progressive millennial and Gen Z candidates for state and local office, launched an initiative that aims to get more renters elected.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
Marina’s recruits had to wait until after midnight for a track to clear so their train could leave.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
“My philosophy is, I’m on TV enough where if he sees me and he likes me, then I will be recruited for the job,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
Within two days of being recruited, Natland flew from Stavanger to Manchester, using the emergency passport as his normal one had expired.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
He has recruited young politicians with large online followings, including Ana Elisa, a 21-year-old newly elected lawmaker from Minas Gerais state who has millions of followers.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
He had recruited Kerr while he was in high school and was glad to have another chance to sign him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
When the war began, British scientists recruited him to help with a secret war-related project—the atomic bomb.
From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin
In recruiting, Zafar said the firm is trying to predict “whether this person will be successful or will that person be successful.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Other employers have been loath to use AI in recruiting, fearful of bias or running afoul of changing legislation on AI in hiring.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
QB Chris Fields III has opened up his recruiting while showing off his talent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
In those areas the group maintains a tight grip, clamping down on dissent and still recruiting fighters.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
He said Elias Motsoaledi and Andrew Mlangeni were in charge of recruiting members and that Dennis Goldberg ran a special school for recruits in the Cape.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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