DictionaryAI

recommend

rek-uh-MEND/ˌɹɛkəˈmɛnd/

Verbrecommends, recommending, recommended

Noun pluralrecommends

4 meanings of recommend

Practice

  1. 1
    adviseverbtransitive
    To suggest a person, thing, or course of action as a good choice or the wise thing to do.

    The critic recommended the new restaurant for its inventive menu.

    Teachers often recommend this novel to students learning about history.

    UsageYou recommend something to someone. For advice on what to do, use recommend + -ing or a that clause: recommend booking early.

  2. 2
    make appealingverbtransitive
    To make acceptable or attractive; to bring favor toward a person or thing.

    The cottage's quiet location recommends it to those seeking peace.

    His honesty and warmth recommend him to all who work with him.

    UsageMost at home in set phrases: has much to recommend it, has little to recommend it. Add to for who is won over.

    Similarendear

    Note

    Here the merits themselves do the recommending, not a person: a place's charm or a man's honesty speaks for it. That marks it off from the ordinary "endorse" sense, where someone does the praising.

  3. 3
    nouncolloquialcountable
    A suggestion or endorsement that something is worth choosing or trying.

    She gave me a solid recommend for the new café downtown.

    That podcast was a strong recommend from my sister, and she was right about it.

    UsagePlural recommends. A casual word; in careful or formal writing, recommendation is the safe choice.

    Similarrecommendation, tip, suggestion, endorsement

    Note

    Here the verb itself does duty as a noun, with the plural recommends, and it belongs to talk rather than careful writing. Rudyard Kipling puts it in a character's mouth in Captains Courageous (1896–97): "I'm glad to have a recommend from that quarter." In formal prose, recommendation is the safe choice. A recommend sounds casual and conversational.

    Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Rudyard Kipling wrote Captains Courageous. gutenberg.org
    • Captains Courageous first appeared in 1896–97, as a serial. en.wikipedia.org
    • The quotation is exact and is spoken by a fictional character, Harvey Cheyne's father. gutenberg.org

Less common meaning

  1. 4
    entrustverbarchaictransitive
    To entrust a person or thing to another's care or protection, with words of favor.

    Similarcommend

    Note

    An older, weightier use in which recommending meant handing someone over. The Latin behind the word, commendāre, is built on manus, "hand," so the idea is putting a person into another's keeping. Parents might recommend a child to God and the monastery, or travelers recommend themselves to the saints. Today it reads as archaic, and entrust or commit carries the meaning plainly.

    Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Use it in a sentence

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Origin

It comes from Middle English recommenden, from Old French recommender, from Latin re- plus commendāre ('to commend, commit; to recommend'). Commendāre itself was formed from con- plus mandāre ('commit, entrust'), from manus ('hand, power') and an old verb element meaning 'put'.

Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

  • Recommend comes through Middle English recommenden and Old French recommender from Latin re- plus commendāre, with the stated meanings. en.wiktionary.org
  • Commendāre is formed from con- plus mandāre, meaning 'commit, entrust'. en.wiktionary.org
  • Manus means 'hand' and 'power'. en.wiktionary.org