recline
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
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
Mr. Popper’s Penguins
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List 10
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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.
Namely, those fees for everything including carry-on bags, soft drinks, coffee, cramped seats that didn’t recline and rocky reliability.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 2, 2026
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
William Hanson, an etiquette coach and author, says it's a matter of choosing your time to recline your seat, which you shouldn't do during a meal.
From BBC • Sep. 28, 2024
“I have massive swelling in my legs from sleeping sitting up, because I can recline, but my legs — I can’t lay them all the way flat,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 14, 2023
The passenger seat is piled with boxes, and there’s so much in the backseat, I can’t recline.
From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle
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.
