adjective
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lying down; reclining
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(of a part or organ) leaning or resting against another organ or the ground
a recumbent stem
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(of a fold in a rock formation) in which the axial plane is nearly horizontal
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of recumbent
1765–75; < Latin recumbent- (stem of recumbēns ), present participle of recumbere to lie back, equivalent to re- re- + cumb-, akin to cubāre to lie down + -ent- -ent
Explanation
Bikes on which you recline rather than sit upright are recumbent. Recumbent means leaning back in a reclining position. Recumbent starts like recline, which is an easy way to remember it. Your dad's position in his favorite La-Z-Boy reclining chair? Recumbent. Your position when you lay back on lounge chair at the pool? Also recumbent — and in both cases, these are both positions of comfort.
Vocabulary lists containing recumbent
Of Mice and Men
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"Of Mice and Men"
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And Then There Were None
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A tiny chalk drawing of a recumbent lion by Rembrandt sold for $17.9 million on Wednesday, the latest sign that the art market is roaring back following a yearslong slump.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026
After class, he hangs around in the small gym adjacent to the activity room and rides the recumbent bike.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 5, 2025
As we made our way along the buttery-smooth pavement of the recently extended Chief Ladiga trail, our group passed an older rider on a recumbent bicycle.
From Slate • Aug. 31, 2025
She remains recumbent for an entire number, singing to a skeleton, before the bones around her reveal themselves as dancers in masks, convulsing to the humongous bassline synths of “Disease.”
From Salon • Apr. 16, 2025
She was startled, and she peered inside: in the back there were rows of chairs screwed to the floor and no place for a recumbent body, quick or dead.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
