recline
Americanverb (used without object)
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reclines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reclined,
past participle, past
-
reclining
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
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
-
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:
The Calligraphy is a bower of abundance, where visitors can recline in plushly padded, heated and ventilated captain’s chairs, dressed in high-grade Nappa leather: the Relaxation Mode seating package.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 8, 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
The most balloon-like, airy element of this room is the plush bean bags, on which guests are encouraged to recline and relax.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2024
Before I lodge the chair against the door, I pull the lever at the side to set it at full recline.
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
The back seat reclines nearly fully like a business-class airline seat and, as in most expensive Chinese cars these days, the seat gives a massage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 24, 2026
If someone reclines into your personal space, what can you do?
From Seattle Times ● May 29, 2023
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
While the chair reclines to a comfortable position, sleep is almost impossible given all the bells, whistles and alarms constantly going off around him from other patients.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2021
Now Lola takes a break from clipping bushes and reclines in a lawn chair, tilting her face toward the sky.
From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio
I got comfy and spent much of the trip with the seat reclined.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
Max Christie reclined in his locker while a recent Grizzlies game played on the Lakers’ locker-room television.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2024
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
These rigs include everything you'd expect in your average F1 car, including a reclined seat, pedals and steering wheel in front of a big curved screen.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2024
In the center of the room is a reclined chair, like a dentist’s, with a machine next to it.
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
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
Odalisque on the Terrace, painted in 1922, depicts two figures - one reclining in the sun while another holds a violin.
From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2026
He indicated the reclining ersatz animal, which continued to ruminate attentively, still watching alertly for any indication of oats.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
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