recommend

verb

rec·​om·​mend ˌre-kə-ˈmend 

recommended; recommending; recommends

transitive verb

1

a

: to present (something) as worthy of acceptance or trial

Can you recommend a good restaurant?

This brand was highly recommended.

hired a contractor who came well recommended

b

: to endorse (someone) as fit, worthy, or competent

Her previous employer recommended her for the position.

2

: to suggest (an act or course of action) as advisable

I recommend that you avoid the downtown during rush hour.

We highly/strongly recommend that you update your operating system.

Follow-up treatment is recommended.

3

: to make (someone or something) acceptable or attractive

a location with many features to recommend it

—often used in phrases like have little to recommend it and have much to recommend it

… the village had little to recommend it other than the panoramic view …

—Paul L. Hall

… this style of travel has much to recommend it.

—Doug and Bobbe Tatreau

"They have none of them much to recommend them," replied he; "they are all silly and ignorant … ."

—Jane Austen

This approach has a lot to recommend it, but it has some downsides too.

—Herminia Ibarra and Anne Scoular

Used with discretion, the technique has something to recommend it …

—Edward J. Foster

He was not well educated; he had nothing to recommend him but his youth and his love for her.

—Charles W. Chestnutt

… dancing is a terrific form of exercise that has everything to recommend it …

—Andrew Weil

4

: entrust, commit

recommended his soul to God

recommendable

ˌre-kə-ˈmen-də-bəl 

adjective

recommendatory

ˌre-kə-ˈmen-də-ˌtȯr-ē 

adjective

recommender noun

see also recommended entry 2

Synonyms

• commend
• commit
• confide
• consign
• delegate
• deliver
• entrust
• intrust
• give
• give over
• hand
• hand over
• leave
• pass
• repose
• transfer
• transmit
• trust
• turn over
• vest

Examples of recommend in a Sentence

There is much besides fishing to recommend a trip to this sleepy fishing village … —Peter Kaminsky, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2002

… you feel as if you've left the world behind, down below, and that the only way to rejoin it is to let go and plummet straight down. Erice is not the first place I'd recommend to the acrophobic. —Francine Prose, Atlantic, December 2002

Many of the jobs, and especially those that paid well, had been parcelled out to candidates—mostly white males—whose applications signified that they had been recommended by well-placed political figures. —Andy Logan, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 1989

If he'd bailed out with the rest of his crew—or been evacuated from the area at once as his regimental surgeon had recommended—perhaps he would have recovered fully … —Tom Clancy, The Cardinal of the Kremlin, 1988

A friend recommended this restaurant.

I can't decide between the lasagna and the salmon. Which do you recommend?

They recommended her for a promotion after only two years.

The film is recommended to anyone who liked her earlier movies.

It is strongly recommended that you change the oil in your car every 5,000 miles.

Take only the recommended dose of cough syrup.

You may decide to pursue the matter in court, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Recent Examples on the Web

Health officials recommend vaccination coverage of at least 95% in communities to prevent outbreaks. —Daniella Silva, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024

David Tendler, deliberate and even-keeled, recommends an aggressive response and files an immediate TRO, or Temporary Restraining Order, forcing Han to stop his demolition. —Suzanne Seggerman, Curbed, 14 Nov. 2024

Prosecutors had recommended 30 days of incarceration for the probation violations in addition to the home confinement and year of probation post-release. —Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2024

Reservations for Free Wine Wednesday are recommended. —Brittany Anas, The Denver Post, 12 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French recommender, from Medieval Latin recommendare, from Latin re- + commendare to commend

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing recommend

• had nothing to recommend him
• has a lot to recommend it
• has everything to recommend it
• has something to recommend it
• have little to recommend it
• have much to recommend it
• much to recommend them

Kids Definition

recommend

verb

rec·​om·​mend ˌrek-ə-ˈmend 

1

: to make a statement in praise of

recommend a person for a promotion

2

: to cause to receive favorable attention

children recommended by their good manners

3

: to put forward or suggest as one's advice, as one's choice, or as having one's support

recommendable

-ˈmen-də-bəl 

adjective

recommender noun