recreation

[ rek-ree-ey-shuhn ]

noun

1. refreshment by means of some pastime, agreeable exercise, or the like.
2. a pastime, diversion, exercise, or other resource affording relaxation and enjoyment.

recreation

/ ˌrɛkrɪˈeɪʃən /

noun

1. refreshment of health or spirits by relaxation and enjoyment
2. an activity or pastime that promotes this
3. 1. an interval of free time between school lessons
   2. ( as modifier )

      recreation period

Other Words From

• rec·re·a·to·ry [rek, -ree-, uh, -tawr-ee, -tohr-ee], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of recreation¹

1350–1400; Middle English recreacioun (< Middle French recreation ) < Latin recreātiōn- (stem of recreātiō ) restoration, recovery, equivalent to recreāt ( us ) ( recreate ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

As the pandemic has limited other kinds of recreation, more people have turned to camping.

From Outside Online

Together we created a user-populated map of the campus places that felt important, whether living communities, academic spaces, or recreation facilities.

From MIT Technology Review

We have set up a lot of temperature checks at recreation spots in the countryside.

From MIT Technology Review

Group recreation programs were cancelled, or at least postponed indefinitely.

From Quartz

The 235 consolidated polling places, known as “superpolls,” will include big spaces like school gymnasiums and recreation centers.

From Voice of San Diego

As anybody who has seen his now famous rant on Parks and Recreation knows, Patton Oswalt can get a little obsessed.

From The Daily Beast

So there is nothing wrong with using the charms of, say, Parks and Recreation, to create some solid bonding time.

From The Daily Beast

For Nick Offerman, of Parks and Recreation, the one is a thing: whiskey.

From The Daily Beast

Brute is the story of Mac and Jesse, two disenfranchised teens who turn to robbing houses as a form of recreation and quick cash.

From The Daily Beast

[Laughs] He thought it was some retro-recreation or something.

From The Daily Beast

For these plays were not the work of a professional writer, but the recreation of a (temporary) professional soldier.

From Project Gutenberg

The cheerful hours of easy labor vary but do not destroy the pursuit of pleasure and of recreation.

From Project Gutenberg

Fishing was his chief recreation and this often brought him to the lakes and rivers of Ireland.

From Project Gutenberg

On the plantation or at the race, the Kentuckian is ever in his best mood for recreation and enjoyment.

From Project Gutenberg

Once, during the recreation hour, he was turning over the pages of his atlas.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• amusement
• diversion
• enjoyment
• fun
• hobby
• pleasure
• relaxation