recognition

noun

rec·​og·​ni·​tion ˌre-kig-ˈni-shən 

-kəg-

1

: the action of recognizing : the state of being recognized: such as

a

: acknowledgment

especially : formal acknowledgment of the political existence of a government or nation

b

: knowledge or feeling that someone or something present has been encountered before

2

: special notice or attention

3

: the sensing and encoding of printed or written data by a machine

optical character recognition

magnetic ink character recognition

Examples of recognition in a Sentence

The procedure is gaining recognition as the latest advance in organ transplant surgery.

The Olympic Committee gave official recognition to the sport.

His smile was a recognition that things were not so bad.

Her paintings received recognition from her fellow artists.

All she wanted was some recognition for her work.

He finally received the recognition that he deserved.

They were awarded medals in recognition of their bravery.

Recent Examples on the Web

The bottom line: The legislative Black caucus is wise to limit its demands in this early phase of recognition that some kind of compensation is in order for those who continue to be victimized by the aftermath of slavery. —Thomas Elias, The Mercury News, 23 Apr. 2024

One motivator for Gottesman’s gift was her recognition of the challenge for students to choose primary care while saddled with educational debt. —Ezekiel J. Emanuel and Matthew Guido, STAT, 22 Apr. 2024

The more relevant problem is that Hammel, who wrote the script with Faheem Ali, shoves us into this mid-pandemic tumult with what often feels like an automatic expectation of laughter, as if our memories of those wretched days would be enough to trigger guffaws of recognition. —Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 22 Apr. 2024

On Saturday, the first day of the nine-day-long recognition, entrance fees will be waived for the more than 400 national parks throughout the country, according to the National Park Service. —The Arizona Republic, 21 Apr. 2024

There needs to be a recognition that students did well. —Kerry Breen, CBS News, 20 Apr. 2024

And when there are more, there will be more recognition of the rules. —Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2024

What do the Palestinians say? For Palestinians, full U.N. membership is one more step in recognition of their long-standing vision of statehood, an ever-more-elusive goal since the 1948 establishment of Israel that led to the displacement of millions of Palestinians. —Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024

Sometimes artists feel like that’s an albatross or something, but it’s got to be a good albatross to have compared to the alternative of not having the recognition. —Chris Willman, Variety, 13 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English recognicion, from Anglo-French recognition, from Latin recognition-, recognitio, from recognoscere

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing recognition

• beyond (all) recognition
• self-recognition

Kids Definition

recognition

noun

rec·​og·​ni·​tion ˌrek-ig-ˈnish-ən 

ˌrek-əg-

1

: the act of recognizing

2

: acknowledgment of something done or given

got a medal in recognition of bravery

3

: formal acknowledgment of the political existence of a government or nation

4

: special attention or notice

Medical Definition

recognition

noun

rec·​og·​ni·​tion ˌrek-əg-ˈnish-ən 

: the form of memory that consists in knowing or feeling that a present object has been met before

Legal Definition

recognition

noun

rec·​og·​ni·​tion ˌre-kəg-ˈni-shən 

1

: the act, process, or fact of recognizing

2

: the state of being recognized