recess — ozdic

Collocations

19

1

(noun.) period when a parliament, etc. does not meet

ADJ

Christmas, summer, Whitsun | parliamentary

VERB + RECESS

go into, rise for

The court will rise for recess at noon so the judges can take a break.

take

The school takes a two-week recess in summer so students can rest and spend time with their families.

return from

PREP

in ~

The parliament is in recess for two weeks, so no new laws will be passed this month.

2

(noun.) part of a wall, set back from the rest of the wall

ADJ

deep | shallow | dark | window

PREP

in/inside

The shelves were built in the recess beside the fireplace to save space.

recesses

ADJ

dark, deep, dim

She found old photographs hidden in the deep recesses of her grandmother's closet.

far, inner | hidden

VERB + RECESS

lurk in

Secrets had been lurking in the recesses of her heart for many years.

push sth into/to

She pushed her fears into the back recesses of her mind and tried to focus on the interview.

PREP

in/within the ~ of

A small hidden room exists within the recesses of the old Victorian house.

PHRASES

the recesses of your mind

A childhood memory suddenly emerged from the deep recesses of my mind while I was walking past the old school.

Definitions

noun

1

A depressed, hollow, or indented space; also, a hole or opening.

Put a generous recess behind the handle for finger space.

[T]he Sun, the great eye of the vvorld, prying into the receſſes of rocks, and the hollovvneſſe of valleys, receives ſpecies, or viſible forms from theſe objects, but he beholds them onely by that light vvhich proceeds from himſelf: […]

2

A depressed, hollow, or indented space; also, a hole or opening.

[T]he Harmony, Proportion and Beauty of Buildings are equally admirable, vvhether they be executed in plain Free-ſtone, or the moſt beautiful Marble; vvhether the Carvings or Mouldings be gilt or not; the Receſſes or Panels in the VValls be curiouſly painted, or only plaiſter'd.

My uncle now clambered on top of the half score of mattresses which form a French bed, and which stood in a deep recess; […]

3

A depressed, hollow, or indented space; also, a hole or opening.

4

A hidden, innermost, or inaccessible place or part of a place.

The recesses of the forest answered well the purposes of concealment, and Lucy was useful both as an unsuspected messenger, and also for the intelligence she was able to obtain.

[I]n the recesses of the palace her mysterious figure was at once invisible and omnipresent.

5

A hidden, innermost, or inaccessible place or part of a place.

[U]s hitherto this Corner and ſecret receſſe hath defended, novv the Vttermoſt point of our Land is laid open: and things the leſſe they haue beene vvithin knovvledge, the greater the glorie is to atchieue them.

[T]hy tidings bring, / Departure from this happy place, our ſweet / Receſs, and onely conſolation left / Familiar to our eyes, all places elſe / Inhoſpitable appeer and deſolate, […]

adj

1

Of a place or time: distant, remote.

[…] I ſhould think it beſt in the ſubſequent diſcourſes to begin to examine vvhether the Earth be eſteemed immoveable, as it hath been till novv believed by moſt men, or elſe moveable, as ſome ancient Philoſophers held, and others of not very receſſe times vvere of opinion; and if it be moveable, to enquire of vvhat kind its motion may be?

verb

1

To position (something) a distance behind another thing; to set back.

His house stood recessed from the road, and the stables, which are to a farm what a fireplace is to a house, were behind, their lower portions being lost amid bushes of laurel.

It will also enable slower-moving freight trains to be recessed in the new down goods loop to await, if necessary, a suitable margin before proceeding to Stafford or Stoke and so reduce confliction with other main-line trains.

2

To make a recess (noun noun sense 1 and noun sense 1.1) in (something).

to recess a wall

3

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.

4

To conceal, to hide.

Get near fat Mr. Dutton, and behind the screen of his prodigious elbow, you will be comfortably recessed from curious impertinents.

5

To temporarily suspend (a meeting, the proceedings of an official body, etc.).

When Congress is recessed, he makes himself acquainted with those free United States, of which he is the gifted son.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — a pause from doing something (as work)

noun — an enclosure that is set back or indented

niche

noun — an arm off of a larger body of water (often between rocky he

inlet

noun — a small concavity

noun — a state of abeyance or suspended business

deferral

verb — close at the end of a session

adjourn

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

Example Bank

6

01

Put a generous recess behind the handle for finger space.

Wiktionary

02

[T]he Sun, the great eye of the vvorld, prying into the receſſes of rocks, and the hollovvneſſe of valleys, receives ſpecies, or viſible forms from theſe objects, but he beholds them onely by that lig

Wiktionary

03

VVithin a Mountain's hollovv VVomb, there lies / A large Receſs, conceal'd from Human Eyes; […]

Wiktionary

04

[…] I ſhould think it beſt in the ſubſequent diſcourſes to begin to examine vvhether the Earth be eſteemed immoveable, as it hath been till novv believed by moſt men, or elſe moveable, as ſome ancient

Wiktionary

05

His house stood recessed from the road, and the stables, which are to a farm what a fireplace is to a house, were behind, their lower portions being lost amid bushes of laurel.

Wiktionary

06

It will also enable slower-moving freight trains to be recessed in the new down goods loop to await, if necessary, a suitable margin before proceeding to Stafford or Stoke and so reduce confliction wi

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, recess is marked as slang, archaic, obsolete, figuratively, rare. Watch for register when choosing this word.