recuse

American  

[ri-kyooz] / rɪˈkjuz /

verb (used with object)

recused, recusing

1. to reject or challenge (a judge, juror, or attorney) as disqualified to act in a particular case, especially because of potential conflict of interest or bias.

2. to disqualify or withdraw (oneself or another person) from any position of judging or decision-making so as to avoid the appearance of personal interest or bias.

   The senator has recused himself from the vote because of his prior association with the company.

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verb (used without object)

recused, recusing

1. to withdraw from any position of judging or decision-making so as to avoid a semblance of personal interest or bias.

recuse British  

/ rɪˈkjuːz, rəˈkjuːz /

verb

1. (tr; reflexive) to remove from participation in a court case due to potential prejudice or partiality

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Usage

What does recuse mean? Recuse most commonly means to withdraw from being in the position of judging a case or presiding over an investigation so as to avoid any partiality or bias. This sense of the word is used reflexively, meaning it’s always followed by a reflexive pronoun, as in recuse yourself, recuse himself, recuse themselves. Less commonly, recuse can mean to reject or challenge a judge or juror due to the belief that they are biased. In both senses, recusing is typically done to avoid a conflict of interest—a situation in which the person doing the voting, judging, or investigating has some personal connection to the case that could influence their decision. People who recuse themselves aren’t resigning—they’re officially excusing themselves from participating. Example: When I was called for jury duty, I knew the man who was on trial so I had to recuse myself.

Other Word Forms

• recusal
  noun
• recusation
  noun

Etymology

Origin of recuse

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English recusen, from Middle French recuser, and from Latin recūsāre “to demur, object”; see recusant

Explanation

The verb recuse is used in legal situations and means to remove someone from a position of judicial authority, either a judge or a member of a jury, who is deemed unacceptable to judge, usually because of some bias. The Latin recusare, meaning "to refuse" is the place to start in the history of recuse. You can recuse someone else, but also yourself. As the sister-in-law of the person accused of stealing 400 gallons of pudding from the local pudding factory, you had no choice but to recuse yourself from judging the trial. Too bad, it sounds like an interesting one.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

recuse recused recusing

Diller, who also sits on MGM’s board, said he would recuse himself from any board deliberations on the proposal.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 1, 2026

Indeed, the last time the companies petitioned the Supreme Court to take up the Boulder case, they hoped to use it as a vehicle to get around Alito’s need to recuse in the other cases.

From Slate ● Mar. 17, 2026

Herscowitz said he would serve on Energy Corps’s board and recuse himself from future matters involving it and the Rockefeller Foundation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026

They tried to contact animal recuse services however they were closed, so someone phoned the police.

From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026

In fact, while we were keen to have Ludorf step down, we secredy hoped that Rumpff, whom we respected as an honest broker, would decide not to recuse himself.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Altman said he recused himself from board discussions about Helion and OpenAI, which signed an agreement under which OpenAI would purchase electricity from Helion to power its infrastructure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026

Nevertheless he recused from all the connected cases, and the petitions were dismissed.

From Slate ● Mar. 17, 2026

Murphy said he had recused himself from anything involved in the debate, and that he was a volunteer for the outside group backing Mahan.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026

She recused herself from a later meeting on 24 October.

From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2026

He came to Vanderbilt and recused himself from the race.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Dunlap complied with the law, recusing himself in 2018 from work on formaldehyde, but only after taking part in internal agency discussions about its health effects.

From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2024

While serving on the lower court, Gorsuch seemed to recognize the conflict of interest that this entanglement created, recusing himself from dozens of cases involving Anschutz and his companies.

From Slate ● Dec. 5, 2024

Mr Barclay did not give a date, but apologised to the committee for not "formally recusing myself sooner," and noting his opposition to the scheme on his ministerial register of interests.

From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2024

She also told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that she would consider recusing herself from any case challenging the law.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 30, 2023

The council voted 10 to 0 to send the proposal to the ballot for voters to decide, with Councilmember John Lee recusing himself as a board member at West Hills Hospital.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2023