recruiter

American  

[ri-kroo-ter] / rɪˈkru tər /

noun

1. someone who engages in finding, attracting, or enlisting employees, new members, students, athletes, etc..

   For all his failings as a head football coach, his predecessor had been an excellent recruiter, and many of his players were potential stars.

   If you are underage, a military recruiter will require your parents' permission before you can enlist.

---

Etymology

Origin of recruiter

recruit ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. )

Explanation

A recruiter is someone whose job involves signing people up as members or hiring them for jobs. Sometimes company recruiters visit college campuses to talk to interested students. A recruiter for a large company might place advertisements for job openings and interview applicants, while a military recruiter works at an office where interested enlistees can sign up to join the armed services. If you work as a recruiter for your school's French club, it's your job to make the club look exciting and fun, and to sign up new members. The origin of recruiter can be traced back to the Latin crescere, "to grow."

Example Sentences

It targeted Ahmed Maeleninine, an Islamic State group recruiter who was hiding out in a cave complex in Somalia.

From Salon • Apr. 22, 2026

“I applied to hundreds of roles over several months. But the process was extremely slow and led nowhere,” technical recruiter A. Kapadia, who asked that her full name not be disclosed, told me.

From Slate • Apr. 20, 2026

Through a different channel, I contacted the recruiter whose name was attached and told her she was being impersonated.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

An xAI recruiter described the approach as “Cut the fat. Build the muscle,” in a Friday post on X.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 13, 2026

The Army recruiter had taped posters of tanks and marching soldiers around the edge of a folding table.

From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko

Related Words

• detective