recognizance
Americannoun
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Law.
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a bond or obligation of record entered into before a court of record or a magistrate, binding a person to do a particular act.
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the sum pledged as surety on such a bond.
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Archaic. recognition.
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Archaic. a token; badge.
noun
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law
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a bond entered into before a court or magistrate by which a person binds himself to do a specified act, as to appear in court on a stated day, keep the peace, or pay a debt
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a monetary sum pledged to the performance of such an act
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an obsolete word for recognition
Other Word Forms
- recognizant adjective
Etymology
Origin of recognizance
1350–1400; Middle English reconissaunce, recognisance < Old French reconuissance. See recognize, -ance
Explanation
The noun recognizance, which means an agreement you make with a court of law to show up when you're told to, is seen most often in the phrase "released on his own recognizance." Of four look-alikes in English — recognizance plus recognition, reconnaissance, and reconnoiter — recognizance has perhaps the narrowest meaning: an obligation requiring you to do something (usually, appear in court). The word has been kicking around for a while: the OED finds a form of it in Chaucer, and its root is the Old French reconnaistre, or recognize.
Vocabulary lists containing recognizance
In the Know: Cogn, Conn
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Heat
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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.
He was released on personal recognizance and is due back in court on April 1.
From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026
A judge released Lemon without bail on his own recognizance.
From Salon • Feb. 2, 2026
Lemon was released on his own recognizance after a brief court appearance in Los Angeles and has vowed to fight the charges.
From Salon • Jan. 31, 2026
Boyadzhyan was booked into a county jail shortly after 9 p.m. and released on his own recognizance about 5:30 a.m.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 14, 2025
Daddy Clidell was to look after me but I was more or less left on my own recognizance and under the unsteady gaze of our lady roomers.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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.
