Recess Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary (original) (raw)

Britannica Dictionary definition of RECESS

1

[noncount]

US

:

a short period of time during the school day when children can play

• The students play outside after lunch and at/during recess.
• Do you have morning recess?

— called also (British) playtime

2

:

a usually brief period of time during which regular activity in a court of law or in a government stops

[count]

• The judge called for a recess [=_break_] for lunch.
• The Senate debates will continue after the August recess.

[noncount]

• The Senate wanted to vote on the bill before recess.

3

[count]

:

a dark, hidden place or part

— usually plural

— often + of

• the dark recesses of the forest
• He buried the memory in the deepest recesses of his mind.

4

[count]

:

a part of a wall that is set back from the rest of the wall

Britannica Dictionary definition of RECESS

US

:

to stop regular activity in a court of law or in a government for a usually short period of time

[no object]

• The trial recessed for the holidays.

[+ object]

• The judge decided to recess the trial for the holidays.