recite
Americanverb (used with object)
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recites,
present (3rd person singular)
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recited,
past participle, past
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reciting
present participle
verb (used without object)
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recites,
present (3rd person singular)
-
recited,
past participle, past
-
reciting
present participle
-
to recite a lesson or part of a lesson for a teacher.
-
to recite or repeat something from memory.
verb
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to repeat (a poem, passage, etc) aloud from memory before an audience, teacher, etc
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(tr) to give a detailed account of
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(tr) to enumerate (examples, etc)
Synonym Usage
See relate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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reciternoun
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prereciteverb (used with object)
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recitableadjective
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unrecitedadjective
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well-recitedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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recitesimple
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recitessimple
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have recitedperfect
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has recitedperfect
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am recitingprogressive
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are recitingprogressive
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is recitingprogressive
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have been recitingperfect progressive
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has been recitingperfect progressive
Past
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recitedsimple
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had recitedperfect
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was recitingprogressive
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were recitingprogressive
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had been recitingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of recite
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English reciten, from Latin recitāre “to read aloud,” equivalent to re- + citāre “to summon”; see origin at re-, cite 1
Explanation
You are showing off your ability to recite, or repeat aloud from memory, when you say the entire text of "The Gettysburg Address" or name all the past winners of your town’s asparagus eating contest. Recite entered the English language as a legal term but is now more often used in the realms of education, literature, and religion. Children in school may be assigned a famous poem to recite in front of the class or be tested on how well they can recite their multiplication tables. In many religious traditions, being able to recite passages of sacred texts is an important part of practicing the religion.
Vocabulary lists containing recite
100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
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Brown Girl Dreaming
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The Secret Life of Bees
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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:
One scene simply makes a naval officer recite Cole’s dossier on a different boat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Because it was the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, the children gathered inside the prayer hall to recite the Quran, she recalls, before she began teaching her pupils a new letter of the Persian alphabet.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
You can recite the climbing gospel by heart: Save more, max the match, don’t touch it, buy and hold.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026
It’s a piece of working Party doctrine—Xi unveiled it in 2017 and made it the centerpiece of an indoctrination campaign every cadre had to recite.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
Starved for entertainment, they begged Penelope to recite poetry, tell jokes, anything—but she could not, for her voice had not yet returned.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
In his memoir he writes that he frequently recites the Shema—the central prayer in Judaism—while he is on a long drive or waiting for a plane to take off.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
When it comes to AI, his encyclical mostly recites the most pessimistic prophecies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
Over these images, Reinsve’s Nora recites a 6th-grade school essay she wrote about her deep identification with her childhood home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2025
He speaks of officers surrounded by threats, recites statistics of those killed in the line of duty, paints a portrait of chaos ever lurking at the roadside.
From Slate ● May 15, 2025
Abuela knows each poem by heart, and recites them quite dramatically.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
The faithful recited the Lord’s Prayer and a Hail Mary.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
Phayom Raksa solemnly recited a pledge that touched on the teachings of the Buddha, and mentioned Thailand's king and the well-being of the nation.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
As Ms. Newsome removed the Confederate flag and carried it down the pole, she recited Psalm 27 and the Lord’s Prayer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
This ritual lasted an entire night and involved burning small figures made of wax and clay while an exorcist recited specific incantations.
From Science Daily ● May 5, 2026
There were very few she could have recited all the way through.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
"I tried to comfort them. Some spent the whole day reciting the Quran, others passed the time on TikTok. I just wanted everyone to stay calm," he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
That day, around 2,000 couples tied the knot in a mass religious ceremony, wearing the same dresses and suits, reciting their vows in unison.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
Students reciting Annapolis’ “Midshipman Ethos” say they’re “united by our oath to defend the Constitution,” not their background.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026
There’s documented marginalia and scribblings that suggest a serious reader, and anecdotes about her reciting poems at parties, reading Proust on set, and expounding on Whitman, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 25, 2026
A day never went by without one of them breaking into song, reciting a sonnet, or dancing a jig.
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
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.
