recruit

verb

re·​cruit ri-ˈkrüt 

recruited; recruiting; recruits

transitive verb

1

a(1)

: to fill up the number of with new members : reinforce

recruit an army

(2)

: to enlist as a member of an armed service

b

: to increase or maintain the number of

America recruited her population from Europe

c

: to secure the services of : engage, hire

d

: to seek to enroll

recruit prospective students

2

: replenish

3

: to restore or increase the health, vigor, or intensity of

intransitive verb

: to enlist new members

recruiter noun

Synonyms of recruit

• hire
• employ

Examples of recruit in a Sentence

He was recruited by the army after high school.

Public schools are recruiting new teachers.

College football coaches spend a lot of time recruiting high school athletes.

College football coaches spend a lot of time recruiting.

Some parents don't think the military should be recruiting from high schools.

We recruited a crew of volunteers to help us.

I recruited my brother to drive us to the concert.

She recruited four friends to distribute food to the homeless with her.

Recent Examples on the Web

Russia faces further battlefield setbacks Russia’s armed forces are suffering dual pressures from significant battlefield casualties and struggles to recruit replacements, underscoring Moscow’s growing challenges in its war on Ukraine. —semafor.com, 29 May 2026

Russian casualties also have soared to more than 30,000 a month, draining the Kremlin’s financial resources even more as bigger incentives must be offered to recruit enough replacements and pay out death benefits. —Jason Ma, Fortune, 29 May 2026

Liverpool have already recruited in central defence before Konate’s exit with Giovanni Leoni arriving in August from Parma and Rennes’ Jeremy Jacquet agreeing to join this summer. —James Pearce, New York Times, 29 May 2026

Gemelke said QuEra has been recruited by some of those states and the United Kingdom. —State House News Service, Boston Herald, 29 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1642, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a(1)

Phrases Containing recruit

• seaman recruit

Rhymes for recruit

• acute
• aleut
• astute
• beetroot
• breadfruit
• cheroot
• commute
• compute
• confute
• dilute
• dispute
• elute

Kids Definition

recruit

1 of 2 verb

re·​cruit ri-ˈkrüt 

1

a

: to increase the number of by enlisting new members

b

: to get the services of : engage

recruited new teachers

2

: replenish

recruited their finances

3

: to return or increase the health, energy, or strength of

recruiter noun

recruitment

-ˈkrüt-mənt

noun

recruit

2 of 2 noun

: a newcomer to a field or activity

especially : a newly enlisted or drafted member of the armed forces

Etymology

from French recrute, recrue (noun) "new growth, a batch of new soldiers," derived from early French recroistre "to grow up again," from Latin recrescere (same meaning), from re- "again" and crescere "to grow"

Word Origin

The French formed the noun recrute, meaning "fresh growth," from their verb recroistre "to grow up again." This verb was taken from the Latin verb recrescere, which had the same meaning. Later, someone saw a likeness between "a fresh growth of plants" and "a fresh supply of soldiers." Thus they began using the word recrute for the new soldiers. In the 17th century this sense of recrute came to the attention of the English. They borrowed the word as recruit and began using it as a verb and noun. In time it acquired broader senses not related to the military.

Medical Definition

recruit

transitive verb

re·​cruit ri-ˈkrüt 

: to restore or increase the health, vigor, or intensity of