recline
Americanverb (used without object)
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reclines,
present (3rd person singular)
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reclined,
past participle, past
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reclining
present participle
verb (used with object)
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reclines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reclined,
past participle, past
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reclining
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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reclinationnoun
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half-reclinedadjective
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half-recliningadjective
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reclinableadjective
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unreclinedadjective
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unrecliningadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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reclinesimple
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reclinessimple
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have reclinedperfect
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has reclinedperfect
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am recliningprogressive
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are recliningprogressive
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is recliningprogressive
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have been recliningperfect progressive
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has been recliningperfect progressive
Past
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reclinedsimple
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had reclinedperfect
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was recliningprogressive
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were recliningprogressive
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had been recliningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of recline
1375–1425; late Middle English reclinen < Latin reclīnāre, equivalent to re- re- + clīnāre to lean 1
Explanation
When you recline, you lounge or lean back. It isn't safe to recline while you're driving a car. However, it's perfectly safe to recline on your couch while you watch TV. When you lie back in your hammock, you recline, and when you tilt your airplane seat into the lap of the person sitting behind you, you recline it. You might even have a special chair that reclines when you lean back in it, magically providing you with a footrest — it's called a recliner. Recline, from the Latin reclinare, "to bend back," shares a Proto-Indo-European root with lean.
Vocabulary lists containing recline
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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.
See Examples For:
But she was surprised that she had to load her bags under the bus herself, and that her seat couldn’t recline for the overnight ride.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
In other cases, the industrious gizmos recline in circulating baths of fluid, which ferries away the heat they generate, enabling them to function at very high speeds, known as "overclocking".
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2025
You ignore it picking up while you make your nest: secure the corners of your blanket, adjust your umbrella and finally, comfortably recline.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2025
The most balloon-like, airy element of this room is the plush bean bags, on which guests are encouraged to recline and relax.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2024
I was glad I got to recline on the ground, because my knees were shaking so hard I was afraid that the Fatherland might faint right on the spot.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
In another, a smiling Clinton reclines in a tub with his arms behind his head.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 20, 2025
The nymph reclines on her side, resting on an urn, which in the past was used to send water into the banks of the lake below.
From New York Times ● Apr. 24, 2023
All seats can be equipped with heating and ventilation, and the rear row reclines.
From Seattle Times ● May 4, 2022
While the chair reclines to a comfortable position, sleep is almost impossible given all the bells, whistles and alarms constantly going off around him from other patients.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2021
“You have three hours, and don’t expect me to help. I’m studying for the SATs,” Maribel says, wadding squishy orange plugs into her ears as she takes out a laptop and reclines in her seat.
From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio
Eric Tung, a single dad and small-business owner in Los Angeles, dropped off his son at volleyball practice recently, reclined his seat and settled into Instagram.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026
Ann Haeckl reclined on a cot — an American Red Cross blanket pulled over her — while her brother John sat nearby.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 18, 2025
For a decade, my therapy appointments required a 30-minute train ride to a mid-rise medical office building in suburban Philadelphia, where I reclined on a black leather couch, grabbing the occasional Kleenex.
From Slate ● Nov. 26, 2024
These rigs include everything you'd expect in your average F1 car, including a reclined seat, pedals and steering wheel in front of a big curved screen.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2024
With a hammer and two threepenny nails in hand, Stella Armijo emerged from her low adobe farmhouse one morning while Herbie reclined on his front stoop trying to read a book.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Earlier research has linked greater amounts of sedentary behavior, including sitting, reclining, or lying down while awake, with poorer health outcomes.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
At a pagoda in the suburb of Amarapura, a statue of a reclining Buddha emerges from a carefully arranged pile of brick rubble, its face respectfully cleaned.
From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026
Dress warmly and take a blanket or reclining chair to get comfortable, and let your eyesight adapt to the dark.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2025
Parents who plan ahead and bed-share more safely may avoid falling asleep accidentally with a baby in the most unsafe of situations — a reclining chair or sofa.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 18, 2025
I was still bound, reclining on the floor.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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.
