recommendation

American  

[rek-uh-men-dey-shuhn, -muhn-] / ˌrɛk ə mɛnˈdeɪ ʃən, -mən- /

noun

• recommendations
  plural

1. an act of recommending.

2. a letter or the like recommending a person or thing.

3. representation in favor of a person or thing.

4. anything that serves to recommend a person or thing, or induce acceptance or favor.

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recommendation British  

/ ˌrɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of recommending

2. something that recommends, esp a letter presenting someone as suitable for a job, etc

3. something that is recommended, such as a course of action

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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

• prerecommendation
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• recommendations
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

recommendation recommendations

The recommendation to reject the ABA is accompanied by a nearly 500-page Education Department report, more than a year in the making.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Only then did I realize this wasn’t simply a recommendation screen.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

In this case, my next recommendation is an air compressor and tire patch kit.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

The European Commission endorsed that recommendation earlier this month.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

The vote was unanimous, although one member, navy undersecretary Ralph Bard, presently dissented from the third recommendation, resigned his post, and proposed to Stimson that the Japanese receive two or three days’ warning.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Its three leaders’ recommendations could be a chance for Warsh to put a new stamp on how the central bank tackles rising prices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Let’s do some fun math instead—like how these recommendations from my colleagues might add up to an enjoyable evening for you:

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

Additional research will be necessary before the findings can be used to shape dietary recommendations.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026

It remained unclear when the committee would release its recommendations.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

When Marine Corps headquarters asked for recommendations from their generals in the field about the code talker program, the responses were unanimous.

From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac

Related Words

• charge
• endorsement
• guidance
• instruction
• judgment
• order
• proposal
• proposition
• sanction
• suggestion
• support