recess

[ ri-ses, ree-ses ]

/ rɪˈsɛs, ˈri sɛs /

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See synonyms for: recess / recessed / recesses on Thesaurus.com

noun

temporary withdrawal or cessation from the usual work or activity.

a period of such withdrawal.

a receding part or space, as a bay or alcove in a room.

an indentation in a line or extent of coast, hills, forest, etc.

recesses, a secluded or inner area or part: in the recesses of the palace.

verb (used with object)

to place or set in a recess.

to set or form as or like a recess; make a recess or recesses in: to recess a wall.

to suspend or defer for a recess: to recess the Senate.

verb (used without object)

to take a recess.

OTHER WORDS FOR recess

1 respite, rest, break, vacation.

See synonyms for recess on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of recess

1510–20; <Latin recessus a withdrawal, receding part, equivalent to recēd(ere) to recede¹ + -tus suffix of v. action, with dt>ss

OTHER WORDS FROM recess

non·re·cess, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use recess in a sentence

Fortunately, there was another word for quick that popped from the recesses of his memory.
You Can Look It Up: The Wikipedia Story|Walter Isaacson|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Pictures of pets, pictures of relatives in coffins, pictures of intimate moments otherwise discarded in the recesses of memory.
These Photographs Would Die Without Him|Dale Eisinger|July 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Welcome to MorbidReality, one of the darkest recesses of humanity featuring some of the most disturbing content on the Internet.
Welcome to MorbidReality, A Subreddit Featuring Some of the Most Disturbing Content on the Internet|Gideon Resnick|February 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the recesses of Concordia you will feel really, really small.
It’s a Big, Big World: Sights That Make You Feel Small|Lonely Planet|December 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The answer to that question is known only in the deep recesses of the mind of the killer.
Colorado Shooting Suspect James Holmes’s Life in Aurora|Christine Pelisek, Eliza Shapiro|July 23, 2012|DAILY BEAST
It was then just after seven o'clock, and the October evening was drawing in with chill airs from the recesses of the forest.
Three More John Silence Stories|Algernon Blackwood
Their deeper recesses were given up to owls and bats, and nearer the entrance the prowling fox or jackal found a covert.
The Catacombs of Rome|William Henry Withrow
In their dark recesses were concocted those treasons, stratagems, and spoils that desolated the land.
The Catacombs of Rome|William Henry Withrow
In one of these dark recesses the wall was pierced, well up toward the Carey street end.
Famous Adventures And Prison Escapes of the Civil War|Various
Shadow after shadow crept down the walls of the chasm, blurred its projections, darkened its faces, and crowded its recesses.
Overland|John William De Forest

British Dictionary definitions for recess

recess

noun (rɪˈsɛs, ˈriːsɛs)

a space, such as a niche or alcove, set back or indented

(often plural) a secluded or secret placerecesses of the mind

a cessation of business, such as the closure of Parliament during a vacation

anatomy a small cavity or depression in a bodily organ, part, or structure

US and Canadian a break between classes at a school

verb (rɪˈsɛs)

(tr) to place or set (something) in a recess

(tr) to build a recess or recesses in (a wall, building, etc)

Word Origin for recess

C16: from Latin recessus a retreat, from recēdere to recede

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for recess

recess

[ rē′sĕs′, rĭ-sĕs′ ]

A small hollow or an indented area.

recess

OTHER WORDS FOR recess

Origin of recess

OTHER WORDS FROM recess

Words related to recess

How to use recess in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for recess

Word Origin for recess

Medical definitions for recess