of late occurrence, appearance, or origin; lately happening, done, made, etc..
recent events; a recent trip.
not long past.
in recent years.
of or belonging to a time not long past.
Geology. Recent. noting or pertaining to the present epoch, originating at the end of the glacial period, about 10,000 years ago, and forming the latter half of the Quaternary Period; Holocene.
See modern.
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin recent- (stem of recēns ) “fresh, new”
If something is recent, it happened in the immediate past or not long ago. You are a recent fan of yoga if you just started liking it in the past week or two. If you talk about something that happened in recent months or years, it means the last one to three months or years. Otherwise, recent means new or just happened. It’s particularly useful when you don’t know exactly when something happened, but you know it wasn’t long ago. Perhaps you have been a recent guest star on a show, and your recent movies have been very successful. You know it wasn’t long ago at all and you are still a star!
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Criminal court records do not show recent charges against Perry.
From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2026
The boost the 21-year-old all-rounder, who has been plagued by back injuries in recent years, gave to the batting innings was almost single-handed.
From BBC • May 30, 2026
It was during a recent fridge clean-out when I came to the uncomfortable realization that I’m pretty bad at shopping for groceries.
From Salon • May 30, 2026
Other recent events have focused on “lost arts,” including sewing, knitting and jewelry making, in which Edenwald residents have offered instruction and bins of yarn.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026
They gleamed from a recent application of wax.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
