recess

Plural: recesses

Noun

a state of abeyance or suspended business
a small concavity
an arm off of a larger body of water (often between rocky headlands)
an enclosure that is set back or indented
a pause from doing something (as work)
A depressed, hollow, or indented space; also, a hole or opening.
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.
A temporary stoppage of an activity; a break, a pause.
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.
An act of retiring or withdrawing; a moving back.
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The state of being withdrawn.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.

Verb

Verb Forms: recessed, recessing, recesses

To place into a receding space or hollow; to take a break.
put into a recess
- "recess lights"
make a recess in
- "recess the piece of wood"
close at the end of a session
To position (something) a distance behind another thing; to set back.
To make a recess (noun sense 1 and sense 1.1) in (something).
Often preceded by in or into: to inset (something) into a recess or niche.
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.
Of an official body: to suspend proceedings for a period of time.

Adj

Of a place or time: distant, remote.

Examples

After a long game, the players decided to recess their minds with a quick snack.
Class will recess for 20 minutes.
Put a generous recess behind the handle for finger space.
Recess the screw so it does not stick out.
Spring recess offers a good chance to travel.
Students who do not listen in class will not play outside during recess.
That gargoyle recesses into the rest of architecture.
the difficulties and recesses of science
the recess of the tides
This court shall recess for its lunch break now.
to recess a wall

Origin / Etymology

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”).
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

Synonyms

adjourn, break, break up, corner, deferral, inlet, niche, recession, respite, time out, alcove, annual leave, breather, caesura, cessation, day off, demurral, gap, getaway, halt, halting, hiatus, holiday, indentation, interregnum, interruption, lapse, leave, leave of absence, moratorium, pause, playtime, privacy, recess, resting, retreat, seclusion, stoppage, stopping, suspension, time away, time off, vac, vaca, vacation, vacay

Antonyms

salient

Scrabble Score: 8

recess: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
recess: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
recess: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 9

recess: valid Words With Friends Word