recess

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   A depressed, hollow, or indented space

   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: […]
   • VVithin a Mountain's hollovv VVomb, there lies / A large Receſs, conceal'd from Human Eyes; […]
2. 2

   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.
3. 3

   A temporary stoppage of an activity

   A temporary stoppage of an activity; a break, a pause.

   • Spring recess offers a good chance to travel.
4. ›+ 19 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      An act of retiring or withdrawing

      An act of retiring or withdrawing; a moving back.

      • the recess of the tides
      • And his Receſſe from the Church, ye proffe not othervviſe, than by the Fame and comon Opinion of thoſe Parts; […]
      • [M]oſt of the other lakes, becauſe they come from Linnes, and huge pooles, or ſuch lowe bottomes, fedde with ſpringes, as ſeeme to haue no acceſſe, but onelye receſſe of waters, wherof there be many in Scotlande.
   2. 5

      A decree or resolution of the diet of the Holy Roman Empire or the Hanseatic League.

      • Conformably to this a receſs [the Recess of Augsburg] vvas framed, approved of, and publiſhed vvith the uſual formalities. […] Such are the capital articles in this famous Receſs, vvhich is the baſis of religious peace in Germany, […]
      • Besides the fundamental laws and the capitulations, the constitution of the Empire was contained in the Recesses or collections of Decrees of the Diet, which was the general legislative body of the whole Federal union; […]
   3. 6

      An act of retiring or withdrawing from public life, society, etc.

      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.

      • The ſoft Receſſes of Your Hours improve / The Three fair Pledges of Your Happy Love: […]
      • […] When the Evidence is fully given, the Jurors withdraw to a private Place, […] In this Receſs of the Jury they are to conſider their Evidence, […]
   4. 7

      Leisure, relaxation.

      • Fair Thames ſhe haunts, and ev'ry neighb'ring Grove / Sacred to ſoft Receſs, and gentle Love.
   5. 8

      The state of being withdrawn.

      • Good Verſe, receſs and Solitude requires: / And Eaſe from Cares, and undiſturb'd Deſires.
   6. 9

      A departure from a norm or position.

      • The external maladies are. 1. Tumours, vvhich are receſſes of the parts of mans body, from the natural ſtate, […]
   7. 10

      A time interval during which something ceases

      A time interval during which something ceases; an interruption, a respite.

      • But in the end (as Perſons capable of reaſon) on both ſides they made rather a kind of Receſſe, then a Breach of Treaty, and concluded vpon a Truce for ſome moneths follovving.
      • But ſo the Fates, for Puniſhment ordain'd, / The ſmall Receſs the vveary Land obtain'd; / So little Breath to riſing Freedom gave, / 'Tvvas hard to knovv the Subject from the Slave.
   8. 11

      An overall-concave, reentrant section of a sinuous fold and thrust belt, thrust sheet, or…

      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.

   9. 12

      An extension or outpouching of a cavity (e.g. articular recess, peritoneal recess,...)

   10. 13

       Of a place or time

       Of a place or time: distant, remote.

   11. 14

       To position (something) a distance behind another thing

       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.
   12. 15

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

       • to recess a wall
   13. 16

       Often preceded by in or into

       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.
   14. 17

       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.
   15. 18

       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.
   16. 19

       To make a recess appointment in respect of (someone).

   17. 20

       Of a meeting, the proceedings of an official body, etc.

       Of a meeting, the proceedings of an official body, etc.: to adjourn, to take a break.

       • Class will recess for 20 minutes.
   18. 21

       Of an official body

       Of an official body: to suspend proceedings for a period of time.

       • This court shall recess for its lunch break now.
   19. 22

       A village in County Galway, Ireland.

The neighborhood

• neighborrecession
• neighborrecessive