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

Cal Fire said safety tips include recreational shooting in areas free of dry vegetation, avoiding shooting on hot, windy days and using paper targets or clay pigeons since steel targets and rocks can spark fires. —City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Nov. 2025

But the construction will cut off access to a recreational area for months while destroying century-old trees and disrupting wildlife, according to the lawsuit stemming from Sacramento residents with the nonprofits Save the American River Association and American River Trees. —Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 8 Nov. 2025

The state’s population of redfish, which cannot be caught commercially but were sometimes a net bycatch, increased so much that the three-month recreational closed season was eliminated. —Steve Waters, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025

At the request of the city’s planning commission, and to decide whether the adult-use recreational cannabis shop could open, city council members had to define whether the recreation center qualifies as a public park attraction. —Talia McWright, Twin Cities, 6 Nov. 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