recommendation

American  

[rek-uh-men-day-shuhn, -muhn-] / ˌrɛk ə mɛnˈdeɪ ʃən, -mən- /

noun

• recommendations
  plural

1. an act of recommending.

2. a letter or the like recommending a person or thing.

3. representation in favor of a person or thing.

4. anything that serves to recommend a person or thing, or induce acceptance or favor.

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recommendation British  

/ ˌrɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of recommending

2. something that recommends, esp a letter presenting someone as suitable for a job, etc

3. something that is recommended, such as a course of action

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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

• prerecommendation
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• recommendations
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

recommendation recommendations

Unison said the breakthrough created a route towards a ballot of its membership, without the council dictating the union's recommendation or communications.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

For instance, for the Eccles project the Fed attempted to adopt the recommendation to use a type of construction contract that shifts the risk of cost overruns to the contractor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

Yet the median down payment on a car dropped to 11.1% by early 2026 from 14.7% in early 2023, according to Edmunds, falling short of even the 20% recommendation.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

For those at intermediate risk, however, the recommendation is less definitive, and anticoagulant treatment is currently listed as something that should be considered.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026

The recommendation of the research department was that Archie Bunker be rewritten as a soft-spoken and nurturing father.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Now, they may need to also fight for AI recommendations.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

The report described the recommendations as "robust" and said they "should minimise the likelihood of a recurrence or similar tragedy".

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

Agency executives largely agreed with the inspector general’s recommendations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

Researchers emphasized that the results are encouraging but are not yet strong enough to support new treatment recommendations.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026

It reminded me of my mother’s last recommendations in the ghetto.

From "Night" by Elie Wiesel

Related Words

• charge
• endorsement
• guidance
• instruction
• judgment
• order
• proposal
• proposition
• sanction
• suggestion
• support