recess

recess

noun

Definition of RECESS

1

a hollowed-out space in a wall <the curator placed the large vase in one of the recesses of the gallery wall>

Synonyms alcove, nook, recess

Related Words corner, cranny, cubbyhole; cubicle; dent, embrasure, indent, indentation, indenture; ambry, housing, shrine

2

a period during which the usual routine of school or work is suspended <the couple goes to Florida every January for a month-long recess from the rigors of winter>

Synonyms break, holiday [chiefly British], hols [British], leave, recess

Related Words sabbatical; furlough, liberty; breather, relaxation, respite, rest; interim, intermission, interval; feast, holy day, legal holiday; idling, loafing, lounging, slacking

3

a momentary halt in an activity <the judge called for a brief recess so that the witness could regain her composure>

Synonyms break, breath, breather, interruption, lull, recess

Related Words time-out; interim, interlude, intermission, interval, respite, rest; cessation, discontinuance, downtime, ending, expiration, finishing, hitch, lapse, stoppage, stopping, termination; abeyance, moratorium, surcease, suspension; discontinuity, gap, hiatus

Near Antonyms continuation, endurance, persistence, progress, progression; extension, prolongation

4

a sunken area forming a separate space <decided to camp in a sandy recess where the beach met the forest>

Synonyms cavity, concavity, dent, depression, dint, hollow, indentation, indenture, pit, recess

Related Words burrow, cave, cavern, ditch, excavation, furrow, groove, gutter, trench, trough; basin, bowl, valley; alcove, cleft, niche, nook, opening, recess, socket; alveolus, dimple, gouge, impression, imprint, notch, pocket; borehole, chuckhole, crater, posthole, pothole, sinkhole, wallow, water hole, well; abyss, chasm, gulf, vacuity, vacuum, void

Near Antonyms hill, mound, rise; bump, bunch, hump, lump, pimple, swell, swelling, tumor

Antonyms bulge, camber, convexity, jut, projection, protrusion, protuberance