recreational

adjective

rec·​re·​a·​tion·​al ˌre-krē-ˈā-sh(ə-)nəl 

1

: of, relating to, or characteristic of recreation

a recreational area

recreational activities

2

: of or relating to recreational drugs or their use

a recreational drug user

Colorado's burgeoning marijuana industry had struggled under its own astonishing success since legal recreational sales began Jan. 1.

—David Migoya

recreationally adverb

Examples of recreational in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Esser highlighted the site's long history of anchoring economic, recreational and agricultural life in the town, as well as the many indigenous and archaeological artifacts that have been found along it. —Claudia Levens, jsonline.com, 16 Dec. 2025

Tourism is not just a recreational activity. —Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 16 Dec. 2025

As a member of a gun club, the 50-year-old shooter in the Sydney attacks had a valid recreational gun license, police said, with six registered firearms. —Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 15 Dec. 2025

Yuba County supervisors last week voted to allow ultralight planes to fly from the Yuba County Airport, ending what amounted to a yearslong ban of the recreational flying machines that prompted a formal complaint to the Federal Aviation Administration. —Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 14 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

recreation + -al entry 1

First Known Use

1656, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing recreational

• recreational drug
• recreational vehicle

Rhymes for recreational

• aspirational
• avocational
• calculational
• combinational
• computational
• conformational
• confrontational
• congregational
• conversational
• correlational
• deformational
• derivational