recent

adjective

re·​cent ˈrē-sᵊnt 

1

a

: having lately come into existence : new, fresh

b

: of or relating to a time not long past

2

capitalized : holocene

recentness noun

Examples of recent in a Sentence

Recent events have brought attention to the problem.

I usually watch that show every week, but I missed the most recent episode.

Medical science has made amazing progress in recent decades.

That was the biggest earthquake in recent history.

Recent Examples on the Web

His recent producing credits include Tim Burton's Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) and Bong Joon-ho's Mickey 17 (2025). —Randall Colburn, EW.com, 3 May 2025

Jodi Smith lost count of the number of rum and Cokes her seatmate ordered on a recent flight from Boston to Los Angeles. —Christopher Elliott, USA Today, 3 May 2025

Heritage Foundation president on Trump's first 100 days NPR's Juana Summers talks with Kevin Roberts — president of the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank behind Project 2025 — about the Trump administration's recent actions. —Npr Staff, NPR, 3 May 2025

As of this writing, less than 30 examples of Daniels’ Prizm Manga insert have been graded PSA, with recent PSA 10 sales reaching $10,000. —Tyler Holzhammer, New York Times, 3 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin recent-, recens; perhaps akin to Greek kainos new

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing recent

• of recent origin

Rhymes for recent

• decent
• puissant
• indecent

Kids Definition

recent

adjective

re·​cent ˈrēs-ᵊnt 

1

a

: of or relating to a time not long past

recent history

b

: having lately appeared or come into existence : new, fresh

recent events

2

capitalized : holocene

recently adverb

recentness noun