recruit

[ri-kroot]

noun

1. a newly enlisted or drafted member of the armed forces.

2. a new member of a group, organization, or the like.

3. a fresh supply of something.

verb (used with object)

1. to enlist (a person) for service in one of the armed forces.

2. to raise (a force) by enlistment.

3. to strengthen or supply (an armed force) with new members.

4. to furnish or replenish with a fresh supply; renew.

5. to renew or restore (the health, strength, etc.).

6. to attempt to acquire the services of (a person) for an employer.

   She recruits executives for all the top companies.

7. to attempt to enroll or enlist (a member, affiliate, student, or the like).

   a campaign to recruit new club members.

8. to seek to enroll (an athlete) at a school or college, often with an offer of an athletic scholarship.

verb (used without object)

1. to enlist persons for service in one of the armed forces.

2. to engage in finding and attracting employees, new members, students, athletes, etc.

3. to recover health, strength, etc.

4. to gain new supplies of anything lost or wasted.

recruit

/ rɪˈkruːt /

verb

1. 1. to enlist (men) for military service

   2. to raise or strengthen (an army, navy, etc) by enlistment

2. (tr) to enrol or obtain (members, support, etc)

3. to furnish or be furnished with a fresh supply; renew

4. archaic,  to recover (health, strength, spirits, etc)

noun

1. a newly joined member of a military service

2. any new member or supporter

Other Word Forms

• recruitable adjective
• recruiter noun
• unrecruitable adjective
• unrecruited adjective
• recruitment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of recruit¹

First recorded in 1635–45; from French, stem of recruter, derivative of recrue “new growth,” noun use of feminine past participle of recroître ( re- re- + croître, from Latin crēscere “to grow”; crescent )

Word History and Origins

Origin of recruit¹

C17: from French recrute literally: new growth, from recroître to grow again, from Latin recrēscere from _re- + crēscere to grow

Example Sentences

The team is now recruiting people who smoke cigarettes and people who vape nicotine for a follow-up project that will explore whether similar brain changes appear in the absence of cannabis.

Read more on Science Daily

In the past, some funds administered Rorschach tests, asking prospective recruits to assess ink blots, aiming to measure their ability to manage complexity.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He suspected he changed his mind because the Bruins had said from the start they were recruiting him to play free safety while Michigan wanted him as a quarterback, his other high school position.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Others, however, counter that campus recruiting simply reflects market forces at work, and that the recruiting particularly helps students from less affluent families.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

LeCun has been talking to associates about creating a startup focused on world models, recruiting colleagues and speaking to investors, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• call up 
• draft 
• engage 
• enlist 
• enroll 
• improve 
• mobilize 
• raise 
• round up 
• select