recite
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
-
to recite a lesson or part of a lesson for a teacher.
-
to recite or repeat something from memory.
verb
-
to repeat (a poem, passage, etc) aloud from memory before an audience, teacher, etc
-
(tr) to give a detailed account of
-
(tr) to enumerate (examples, etc)
Related Words
See relate.
Other Word Forms
- prerecite verb (used with object)
- recitable adjective
- reciter noun
- unrecited adjective
- well-recited adjective
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”; re-, cite 1
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.
At 7 Alfred could recite by heart Horace’s Odes—in Latin.
Once, during a demonstration outside a cafeteria, as police were about to arrest the demonstrators, Jackson suggested they kneel and recite the Lord’s Prayer.
From Los Angeles Times
We pull forward, and Dad recites our order at the speaker box.
From Literature
Guan Yin Citta describes its goals as encouraging "people to recite Buddhist scriptures, practise life liberation and make great vows to help more people".
From Barron's
As the lights lowered, she thanked the crowd, the white flower tucked in her hair catching the light as she recited her first poem, “White Sage.”
From Los Angeles Times
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.
