recline
Americanverb (used without object)
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reclines,
present (3rd person singular)
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reclined,
past participle, past
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reclining
present participle
verb (used with object)
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reclines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reclined,
past participle, past
-
reclining
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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reclinationnoun
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half-reclinedadjective
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half-recliningadjective
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reclinableadjective
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unreclinedadjective
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unrecliningadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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reclinesimple
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reclinessimple
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have reclinedperfect
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has reclinedperfect
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am recliningprogressive
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are recliningprogressive
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is recliningprogressive
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have been recliningperfect progressive
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has been recliningperfect progressive
Past
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reclinedsimple
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had reclinedperfect
-
was recliningprogressive
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were recliningprogressive
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had been recliningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of recline
1375–1425; late Middle English reclinen < Latin reclīnāre, equivalent to re- re- + clīnāre to lean 1
Explanation
When you recline, you lounge or lean back. It isn't safe to recline while you're driving a car. However, it's perfectly safe to recline on your couch while you watch TV. When you lie back in your hammock, you recline, and when you tilt your airplane seat into the lap of the person sitting behind you, you recline it. You might even have a special chair that reclines when you lean back in it, magically providing you with a footrest — it's called a recliner. Recline, from the Latin reclinare, "to bend back," shares a Proto-Indo-European root with lean.
Vocabulary lists containing recline
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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:
So will early boarding, overhead space or an advance seat assignment, even if it’s in the middle of the last row and doesn’t recline.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
In other cases, the industrious gizmos recline in circulating baths of fluid, which ferries away the heat they generate, enabling them to function at very high speeds, known as "overclocking".
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2025
You ignore it picking up while you make your nest: secure the corners of your blanket, adjust your umbrella and finally, comfortably recline.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2025
However, if the room is going to be used primarily for movie nights, opt for a deeper sofa that will allow you to recline and relax.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 15, 2023
Later I saw him mimicking me; he would recline on the sofa with his little legs propped on pillows, speaking intermittently into the recorder as though he were taking drags on a cigarette.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
In another, a smiling Clinton reclines in a tub with his arms behind his head.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 20, 2025
The nymph reclines on her side, resting on an urn, which in the past was used to send water into the banks of the lake below.
From New York Times ● Apr. 24, 2023
Your seat reclines but does not lie flat.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 23, 2022
All seats can be equipped with heating and ventilation, and the rear row reclines.
From Seattle Times ● May 4, 2022
I grab a chair and swing it over near where he reclines on the floor.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
Eric Tung, a single dad and small-business owner in Los Angeles, dropped off his son at volleyball practice recently, reclined his seat and settled into Instagram.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026
I reclined in the exam chair as Shalom parted my hair into sections and cleansed the area with an antiseptic liquid.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025
For a decade, my therapy appointments required a 30-minute train ride to a mid-rise medical office building in suburban Philadelphia, where I reclined on a black leather couch, grabbing the occasional Kleenex.
From Slate ● Nov. 26, 2024
A gaggle of boys reclined on a bean bag in “Caps for Sale,” passing around a copy of the book.
From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
In the honey house I reclined on my cot and told myself I could think about anything I wanted, except my mother, so naturally she was the only thing that wanted on the elevator.
From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
New halls offer air conditioning, reclining seats and food delivered to the seat.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
“All achievements — straight A’s at the time — anything that could be rewarded was pooled to funds,” he said, reclining on a patio chair in the shade at Chargers headquarters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
Earlier research has linked greater amounts of sedentary behavior, including sitting, reclining, or lying down while awake, with poorer health outcomes.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
Clinton swimming with Ghislaine Maxwell in one undated photo; reclining in the hot tub next to the person whose face has been blacked out.
From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2026
Cersei was reclining on a pile of cushions.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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.
