recommendation
Pluralrecommendations
- 1A suggestion or proposal about the best course of action in a given situation.
The panel's recommendation about campus safety was to add lighting along every walkway.
The auditors' recommendation to tighten expense controls went unheeded for months.
Similarsuggestion, proposal, advice, counsel
Note
Two prepositions do different jobs here. About introduces the matter under discussion, and to plus a verb names the action being advised: a recommendation about what food to order, the recommendation to order sushi. Its natural verbs come in pairs, because one person makes the recommendation and another follows it.
- 2A commendation or endorsement; an expression of approval that presents someone or something as worthy or reliable.
He was hired on the strong recommendation of his previous supervisor.
The little bakery thrives on word-of-mouth recommendation alone.
Similarendorsement, commendation, reference, testimonial
- 3The act of recommending; the putting forward of a person, thing, or course of action as suitable or worthy.
Her recommendation of the candidate came only after two long interviews.
The critic's public recommendation of the album boosted its sales overnight.
Similarendorsement, commendation, nomination
- 4That which is recommended; the particular item, person, or course of action put forward as the best choice.
His recommendation, a quiet inn near the harbor, exceeded our expectations.
The committee's recommendation, a phased rollout, survived the budget cuts intact.
Similarsuggestion, pick, choice
Note
Public bodies speak in this sense, usually in the plural. Health agencies and task forces make recommendations, and a single rule meant for everyone is a blanket recommendation, as Brenda Goodman writes of the CDC's Covid-19 vaccine advice in 2025. Here the word names the content of the advice, which is why it can be narrowed or widened. The act of recommending, by contrast, is simply something one does.
Practice
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Origin
From Middle English recommendacioun, from Anglo-Norman recomendacion, which came from Medieval Latin recommendatio.