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

But this time, the debate is not about the widespread push for cell phone bans that have dominated recent legislative sessions and school policies. — Erin Mote, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026

The rapidly evolving technology has become a source of controversy after a series of hacks in recent months that showed AI agents can conspire to deceive humans. — Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026

Some recent polling showed the two candidates statistically tied, or Gray narrowly leading. — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 15 Sep. 2026

Beauty’s acquisition of Rhode and L’Oréal’s majority stake in Medik8, both said to be in the billion-dollar range and many in between, Jeannette Smits van Oyen has overseen some of the biggest recent deals inside — and outside — of beauty. — Wwd Staff, Footwear News, 14 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