recruit

[ ri-kroot ]

/ rɪˈkrut /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR recruit ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a newly enlisted or drafted member of the armed forces.

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

a fresh supply of something.

verb (used with object)

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

to raise (a force) by enlistment.

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

to furnish or replenish with a fresh supply; renew.

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

to attempt to acquire the services of (a person) for an employer: She recruits executives for all the top companies.

to attempt to enroll or enlist (a member, affiliate, student, or the like): a campaign to recruit new club members.

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

verb (used without object)

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

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

to recover health, strength, etc.

to gain new supplies of anything lost or wasted.

Nearby words

recrimination, recross, recrudesce, recrudescence, recrudescent typhus, recruit, recruitment, recrystallize, rect, rect-, rect.

Origin of recruit

1635–45; < French, stem of recruter, derivative of recrue new growth, noun use of feminine past participle of recroître (re- re- + croître < Latin crēscere to grow; cf. crescent)

Related forms

re·cruit·a·ble, adjectivere·cruit·er, nounun·re·cruit·a·ble, adjectiveun·re·cruit·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for recruiting

The priority that the regime places on cyber warfare is made clear by its recruiting.
Inside the ‘Surprisingly Great’ North Korean Hacker Hotel|Michael Daly|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Feds are more interesting in finding out who is doing the recruiting rather than punishing those being recruited.
What the U.S. Can Learn from Europe About Dealing with Terrorists|Scott Beauchamp|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At the same time, the gorier the propaganda, the better it was for ISIS recruiting.
Has ISIS Peaked as a Military Power?|Jacob Siegel|October 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This can be a helpful guide to other nations in deterring ISIS from recruiting.
It'll Take More Than Bombs to Stop ISIS|Dean Obeidallah|September 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Sheikh Raad al-Khafaji had invited me to break the Ramadan fast in the headquarters of his recruiting operation.
The Brewing Battle for Baghdad|Jacob Siegel|August 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Many of them became headquarters for recruiting seamen for these adventurous expeditions.
Old Taverns of New York|William Harrison Bayles
You may depend on me for that, said the counterfeit king, as he started on his recruiting expedition.
The White Rose of Memphis|William C. Falkner
The reduced manpower ceilings imposed on the Navy, even during the Korean War, had caused a drastic curtailment in recruiting.
Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940-1965|Morris J. MacGregor, Jr.
He evades neither the taxgatherer nor the recruiting officer.
The Future of Road-making in America|Archer Butler Hulbert
In the Northern cities the recruiting offices were densely thronged.
Camp-Fire and Cotton-Field|Thomas W. Knox

British Dictionary definitions for recruiting

recruit

/ (rɪˈkruːt) /

verb

to enlist (men) for military service
to raise or strengthen (an army, navy, etc) by enlistment

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

to furnish or be furnished with a fresh supply; renew

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

noun

a newly joined member of a military service

any new member or supporter

Derived Forms

recruitable, adjectiverecruiter, nounrecruitment, noun

Word Origin for recruit

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012