recruit

American  

[ri-kroot] / rɪˈkrut /

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.

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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 British  

/ 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)

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noun

1. a newly joined member of a military service

2. any new member or supporter

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of recruit

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”; cf. crescent)

Explanation

To recruit means to get someone to join something. You might recruit people for the navy or you might recruit members for your quilting group. The verb recruit often refers to formally joining an organization or a group, such as the military or a corporation. It can also be used more broadly to refer to getting someone to participate in a cause, formal or otherwise, like when you recruit your friend to help paint your room. As a noun, recruit means "a person who has been recruited." If you just joined the Army, you're a new recruit.

Example Sentences

Even the commitment to campaigning can move the needle, especially for two streamers looking to recruit more talent to their ranks.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2026

Russian forces are losing nearly 35,000 soldiers a month, according to Western intelligence estimates, more than the Kremlin can recruit.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026

Lest we forget that Bernie Madoff infamously used his social and country-club networks to recruit investors, running one of the largest “affinity frauds” in history.

From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026

And our ability to recruit muscle cells for maximal effort also declines.

From Barron's • May 23, 2026

The Patriots had tried in vain to recruit me.

From "Legend" by Marie Lu

Related Words

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