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

Recent : 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

This comes after companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Google disclosed recent incidents in which their AI models escaped their sandboxes and attempted to hack other companies and access their computer systems. — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 29 Sep. 2026

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated Monday that the chances of making speedy headway on forging a peace settlement were bleak after recent Ukrainian attacks, including during recent parliamentary elections in Russia. — Hanna Arhirova, Arkansas Online, 29 Sep. 2026

The Senate passed a bill Monday night that aims to regulate college sports after several court cases in recent years dramatically overhauled NCAA rules and allowed student-athletes to earn money from their name, image, and likeness, known as NIL. — Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 29 Sep. 2026

In recent decades, the yardstick got a boost via exceptionally low real rates. — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2026

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