recommendation

American  

[rek-uh-men-dey-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

"This is a genuinely exciting recommendation," says Helen Knight, director of medicines evaluation at NICE.

From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026

And finally: How about a recommendation for a great way to start tomorrow?

From Slate • Jun. 22, 2026

During monetary policy deliberations with the other 11 members of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, Greenspan spoke first and issued his recommendation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 22, 2026

While that could bring with it some immediate bumpiness, the strategist’s recommendation is to view any volatility “through a technical lens” and to use stock dips as buying opportunities.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 18, 2026

Chamberlin claimed later that this attorney had been so angry at having his recommendation rebuffed that he tipped Holmes to the fact the creditors were again leaning toward arrest.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Related Words

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