recruitment

noun

re·​cruit·​ment ri-ˈkrüt-mənt 

1

: the action or process of recruiting

2

: the process of adding new individuals to a population or subpopulation (as of breeding or legally catchable individuals) by growth, reproduction, immigration, and stocking

also : a measure (as in numbers or biomass) of recruitment

Examples of recruitment in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In addition to cheering for Leonard on the sidelines both virtually and in person, the student is working on earning her bachelor’s degree in public relations and serves as the recruitment chair for her sorority, Chi Omega. —Emily Blackwood, People.com, 10 Jan. 2025

The stories make no mention of Donaldson’s assistance agreement being part of any military recruitment effort. —Joedy McCreary, USA TODAY, 9 Jan. 2025

Less than a year earlier, the teenage quarterback from the Dallas suburbs had backed away from his commitment to play for the Texas Longhorns and reopened his recruitment. —Andrew Greif, NBC News, 9 Jan. 2025

Jihadi organizations, including a chapter of the Islamic State, have found fertile ground for recruitment in Mindanao, the country’s poorest region. —Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1793, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

recruitment

noun

re·​cruit·​ment ri-ˈkrüt-mənt 

1

: the increase in intensity of a reflex when the initiating stimulus is prolonged without alteration of intensity due to the activation of increasing numbers of motor neurons compare reinforcement

2

: an abnormally rapid increase in the sensation of loudness with increasing sound intensity that occurs in deafness of neural origin and especially in neural deafness of the aged in which soft sounds may be completely inaudible while louder sounds are distressingly loud