recommendation
Americannoun
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recommendations
plural
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an act of recommending.
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a letter or the like recommending a person or thing.
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representation in favor of a person or thing.
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anything that serves to recommend a person or thing, or induce acceptance or favor.
noun
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the act of recommending
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something that recommends, esp a letter presenting someone as suitable for a job, etc
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something that is recommended, such as a course of action
Usage
Spelling tips for recommendation The word recommendation is hard to spell because it is tricky to know whether the c, the m, and/or the d is doubled. How to spell recommendation: The easiest way to remember how to spell recommend is to break it into three parts: re - com - mend - ation. You can keep the first three sections in mind with the sentence: "I recommend that you rely commonly on mending." The suffix -ation is used to indicate nouns of action and appears in many other words, like starvation and regulation.
Synonym Usage
See advice.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of recommendation
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English recommendacion, from Medieval Latin recommendātiōn-, stem of recommendātiō, from recommendāt(us) (past participle of recommendāre; see recommend) + -iō -ion
Explanation
If you give someone a recommendation, you're saying, "try this, it's good" or "this is the best way to proceed," or "this person will do a great job." The noun recommendation stems from the Middle Latin word recommend, meaning "praise" or "present as worthy." Policy makers have made a strong recommendation to implement renewable energy initiatives to alleviate our dependence on fossil fuels. It used to be that you carried a letter of recommendation from a prominent person and used it as an introduction to polite society in an unfamiliar place, but nowadays, such a letter simply explains why someone is qualified for a particular job or school.
Vocabulary lists containing recommendation
CTE Cosmetology (Milady), Vocabulary from Part 1
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Conventions, Writing, and Speaking & Listening, Unit 1
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"Modern Automotive Technology," Vocabulary from Section 7
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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 idea was a key recommendation of Sir John Cunliffe's Independent Water Commission published in June last year.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
He added: "If she is innocent, as I believe, as 30-odd experts believe, then everything that has gone before the inquiry and every recommendation has operated on the wrong premise."
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Establishing such a process that could be quickly implemented was actually a recommendation from the Woolsey fire review, but it was not carried out, the report found.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
I invested in a cryptocurrency-trading exchange on the recommendation of an executive vice president of a major New York investment bank.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
Diaz wrote me a recommendation for a partial scholarship, too.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
Interest rates aren’t the only thing going up; so are your chances of having a great evening if you heed my colleagues’ recommendations.
From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2026
The department shared 13 recommendations for improving outcomes with several county- and city-level domestic violence focused committees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
He devised policy recommendations “for Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction” as a visiting fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, his LinkedIn profile says.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026
It can surface reliable restaurant recommendations nearby, obviating long searches through Google Maps or Yelp.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
“Let’s just cut to the chase, okay? What exactly are your recommendations, Hal?”
From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio
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.
