recede

¹ American  

[ri-seed] / rɪˈsid /

verb (used without object)

receded, receding

1. to go or move away; retreat; go to or toward a more distant point; withdraw.

2. to become more distant.

3. (of a color, form, etc., on a flat surface) to move away or be perceived as moving away from an observer, especially as giving the illusion of space.

4. to slope backward.

   a chin that recedes.

5. to draw back or withdraw from a conclusion, viewpoint, undertaking, promise, etc.

   Synonyms:

   retreat, retire

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recede ² American  

[ree-seed] / riˈsid /

verb (used with object)

receded, receding

1. to cede back; yield or grant to a former possessor.

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recede British  

/ rɪˈsiːd /

verb

1. to withdraw from a point or limit; go back

   the tide receded

2. to become more distant

   hopes of rescue receded

3. to slope backwards

   apes have receding foreheads

4. 1. (of a man's hair) to cease to grow at the temples and above the forehead

   2. (of a man) to start to go bald in this way

5. to decline in value or character

6. (usually foll by from) to draw back or retreat, as from a promise

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Etymology

Origin of recede¹

First recorded in 1470–80; from Latin recēdere “to go back, fall back”; equivalent to re- + cede

Origin of recede²

First recorded in 1765–75; re- + cede

Explanation

Recede means to pull back, retreat, or become faint or distant. Flood waters recede, as do glaciers, and even abstractions like "panic" and "hope." Think "receding hairline." (That means bald.) Cede means "to yield." Politicians, after losing an election will "cede the field" or "concede the race." Recede means to yield back. Over time, this word has taken on the sense of fading or growing faint, as in "The ghostly vision of a woman receded into the fog."

Example Sentences

After the sun came up, "we watched the water recede little by little" before the fire department arrived, Mikey said.

From BBC • Mar. 22, 2026

As floodwaters begin to recede on Oahu, residents are returning home to assess the damage and, in many cases, what’s been lost.

From Salon • Mar. 22, 2026

One reason is that as tariffs and housing pressures recede, odds are that inflation will resume its decline.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026

It’s become much too easy to recede into the claustrophobic containers of our depression-inducing screens.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

While the rate declined in the 1990s as the shadows cast by the Vietnam War began to recede, it has picked up again as a result of the military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Related Words

• abate
• decrease
• diminish
• dwindle
• ebb
• fade
• fall back
• lessen
• reduce
• retreat
• shrink
• sink
• subside
• taper
• wane