recommendation

American  

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

noun

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.

Related Words

See advice.

Other Word Forms

• prerecommendation
  noun

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

The rub is that these platforms have been geared toward recommendation engines over direct influencer-and-follower relationships for a while now.

From Slate • May 6, 2026

Brussels has sought to exclude certain suppliers after less than half of the EU's 27 member states implemented its 2023 recommendation to exclude Huawei and ZTE from 5G networks.

From Barron's • May 6, 2026

That arrangement will stay in place until the judge offers his recommendation on parent time on or before May 11.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026

Raising his recommendation to buy from accumulate, Lead tells clients in a note that the Australian business lender’s third-quarter volume growth looked solid.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

“There’s plenty of space. And I’ll promise to write you a very good recommendation letter as long as you promise something in return.”

From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Related Words

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