recess.
A depressed, hollow, or indented space; also, a hole or opening.
Meaning & usage
A depressed, hollow, or indented space; also, a hole or opening.
Put a generous recess behind the handle for finger space.
A depressed, hollow, or indented space; also, a hole or opening. A small space created by building part of a wall further back from the rest; a niche.
A depressed, hollow, or indented space; also, a hole or opening. The place in a prison where the communal lavatories are located.
A hidden, innermost, or inaccessible place or part of a place.
A hidden, innermost, or inaccessible place or part of a place. A place of retirement, retreat, or seclusion.
A hidden, innermost, or inaccessible place or part of a place. An obscure, remote, or secret situation.
the difficulties and recesses of science
A temporary stoppage of an activity; a break, a pause.
Spring recess offers a good chance to travel.
A temporary stoppage of an activity; a break, a pause. A period of time when the proceedings of a committee, court of law, parliament, or other official body are temporarily suspended.
A temporary stoppage of an activity; a break, a pause. A time away from studying during the school day for a meal or recreation.
Students who do not listen in class will not play outside during recess.
An act of retiring or withdrawing; a moving back.
the recess of the tides
A decree or resolution of the diet of the Holy Roman Empire or the Hanseatic League.
An act of retiring or withdrawing from public life, society, etc.; also, an act of living in retirement or seclusion, or a period of such retirement or seclusion.
Leisure, relaxation.
The state of being withdrawn.
A departure from a norm or position.
A time interval during which something ceases; an interruption, a respite.
An overall-concave, reentrant section of a sinuous fold and thrust belt, thrust sheet, or a single thrust fault, caused by one or more of: deformation (folding and faulting) of strata and geologic structures during orogenesis, differences in the angle of critical taper during orogenesis, or differing erosional level of the present geomorphological surface.
An extension or outpouching of a cavity (e.g. articular recess, peritoneal recess,...)
Where this word comes from
The noun is borrowed from Latin recessus (“act of going back, departure, receding, retiring; (figuratively) retreat, withdrawal; (metonymically) distant, secluded, or secret spot, corner, nook, retreat; recessed part, indentation”) (also Late Latin recessus (“decree or resolution of the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire”)), from recēdō (“to go back, recede, retire, withdraw; to go away, depart; (by extension) to disappear, vanish; to separate; to stand back, be distant; to yield”) (from re- (prefix meaning ‘back, backwards’) + cēdō (“to go, move, proceed”)) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns from verbs); influenced by Middle French recès, French recès (“a break, pause; break between classes in school; school vacation; ebbing of tide; reduction”) (also Anglo-Norman recès and Old French recès (“hiding place; hollow”). Noun sense 5 (“decree or resolution of the diet of the Holy Roman Empire, etc.”) is possibly influenced by Italian recesso and refers to a decree or resolution made just before a meeting ends. The adjective and verb are derived from the noun. Cognates * Catalan recés * Italian recesso * Middle French recès (modern French recès) * Portuguese recesso * Spanish receso
Of a place or time: distant, remote.
Where this word comes from
The noun is borrowed from Latin recessus (“act of going back, departure, receding, retiring; (figuratively) retreat, withdrawal; (metonymically) distant, secluded, or secret spot, corner, nook, retreat; recessed part, indentation”) (also Late Latin recessus (“decree or resolution of the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire”)), from recēdō (“to go back, recede, retire, withdraw; to go away, depart; (by extension) to disappear, vanish; to separate; to stand back, be distant; to yield”) (from re- (prefix meaning ‘back, backwards’) + cēdō (“to go, move, proceed”)) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns from verbs); influenced by Middle French recès, French recès (“a break, pause; break between classes in school; school vacation; ebbing of tide; reduction”) (also Anglo-Norman recès and Old French recès (“hiding place; hollow”). Noun sense 5 (“decree or resolution of the diet of the Holy Roman Empire, etc.”) is possibly influenced by Italian recesso and refers to a decree or resolution made just before a meeting ends. The adjective and verb are derived from the noun. Cognates * Catalan recés * Italian recesso * Middle French recès (modern French recès) * Portuguese recesso * Spanish receso
To position (something) a distance behind another thing; to set back.
To make a recess (noun senses 1 and 1.1) in (something).
to recess a wall
Often preceded by in or into: to inset (something) into a recess or niche.
That gargoyle recesses into the rest of architecture.
Recess the screw so it does not stick out.
To conceal, to hide.
To temporarily suspend (a meeting, the proceedings of an official body, etc.).
To make a recess appointment in respect of (someone).
Of a meeting, the proceedings of an official body, etc.: to adjourn, to take a break.
Class will recess for 20 minutes.
The meeting was recessed at midday.
Of an official body: to suspend proceedings for a period of time.
This court shall recess for its lunch break now.
The court recessed early for the weekend.
Where this word comes from
The noun is borrowed from Latin recessus (“act of going back, departure, receding, retiring; (figuratively) retreat, withdrawal; (metonymically) distant, secluded, or secret spot, corner, nook, retreat; recessed part, indentation”) (also Late Latin recessus (“decree or resolution of the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire”)), from recēdō (“to go back, recede, retire, withdraw; to go away, depart; (by extension) to disappear, vanish; to separate; to stand back, be distant; to yield”) (from re- (prefix meaning ‘back, backwards’) + cēdō (“to go, move, proceed”)) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns from verbs); influenced by Middle French recès, French recès (“a break, pause; break between classes in school; school vacation; ebbing of tide; reduction”) (also Anglo-Norman recès and Old French recès (“hiding place; hollow”). Noun sense 5 (“decree or resolution of the diet of the Holy Roman Empire, etc.”) is possibly influenced by Italian recesso and refers to a decree or resolution made just before a meeting ends. The adjective and verb are derived from the noun. Cognates * Catalan recés * Italian recesso * Middle French recès (modern French recès) * Portuguese recesso * Spanish receso
Try it on your idea.
recess has 6 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.
These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.
Explore the name generatorA word with a source.
Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.