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:
He added: "If she is innocent, as I believe, as 30-odd experts believe, then everything that has gone before the inquiry and every recommendation has operated on the wrong premise."
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
I invested in a cryptocurrency-trading exchange on the recommendation of an executive vice president of a major New York investment bank.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
They echoed Dresser’s recommendation: treats also help with positive reinforcement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Internet searches, AI-generated images, recommendation systems, scientific simulations, and large language models all depend on enormous amounts of information being created, moved, stored, and analyzed.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026
Dad said he was sucking up to get a letter of recommendation.
From "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Among the recommendations made in the report was putting an end to the use of the small metal enclosures, greater access to showers for inmates and more recreation time.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
Tarlov games out numerous scenarios with recommendations on how to deploy statistics and when to lighten up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
The researchers caution that the findings are not yet sufficient to support formal recommendations about oxalate intake for people with IBD.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
Analysis by the inquiry's legal team showed that, of more than 1,400 recommendations made by previous healthcare-related inquiries, the majority have not been clearly implemented.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
What were they supposed to tell the record numbers of applicants who had been rejected—the ones with straight As, enthusiastic recommendations, polished essays, and long lists of activities?
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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.
