recede
1 Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to go or move away; retreat; go to or toward a more distant point; withdraw.
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to become more distant.
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(of a color, form, etc., on a flat surface) to move away or be perceived as moving away from an observer, especially as giving the illusion of space.
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to slope backward.
a chin that recedes.
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to draw back or withdraw from a conclusion, viewpoint, undertaking, promise, etc.
verb
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to withdraw from a point or limit; go back
the tide receded
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to become more distant
hopes of rescue receded
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to slope backwards
apes have receding foreheads
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(of a man's hair) to cease to grow at the temples and above the forehead
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(of a man) to start to go bald in this way
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to decline in value or character
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(usually foll by from) to draw back or retreat, as from a promise
Etymology
Origin of recede1
First recorded in 1765–75; re- + cede
Origin of recede1
First recorded in 1470–80; from Latin recēdere “to go back, fall back”; equivalent to re- + cede
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.
The pontoon began to move, and we watched the dam recede.
From Literature
Maybe, just maybe, the darkness was beginning to recede.
From Literature
He is banking that the firm will be helped by wider trends, as general inflation recedes, and the price of coffee, which has soared in recent years, subsides a little.
From BBC
Following the pandemic, inflation receded—but not sufficiently.
From Barron's
Mirror Tech was getting farther and farther away and he felt like the answers he needed were receding with it.
From Literature
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.
