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

• recruitable
  adjective
• recruiter
  noun
• recruitment
  noun
• unrecruitable
  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

Authorities, treading a delicate line in managing an increasing number of visitors, began last year to recruit more than 500 young men from communities across the archipelago as police "homeguards".

From Barron's • May 18, 2026

An omen among omens: Mid-dog-walk that day, I spot a onesie that reads “Milk Drunk” and shudder at the impulse to recruit our newborns into low-key bacchanalia.

From Slate • May 10, 2026

Mira Costa remains the team to beat with a 31-2 record and having the No. 1 college recruit from the class of 2027, Mateo Fuerbringer.

From Los Angeles Times • May 9, 2026

Debbie Kwon, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic, had to overcome bureaucrats and colleagues who sabotaged her attempts to recruit engineering talent and apply AI to MRI technology.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

When he wasn’t busy trying to recruit new agents or receiving coded radio messages from Moscow, Abel worked on improving as a painter.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

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