recruitment

noun

re·​cruit·​ment ri-ˈkrüt-mənt 

1

: the action or process of recruiting

2

: the process of adding new individuals to a population or subpopulation (as of breeding or legally catchable individuals) by growth, reproduction, immigration, and stocking

also : a measure (as in numbers or biomass) of recruitment

Examples of recruitment in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Their focus on youth in recruitment demands that older heads (in relative terms, at least — Neto and Fernandez are 25) can alleviate the pressure while players adjust to Chelsea and, in Gittens’ case, the Premier League. —Cerys Jones, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2026

As chief human resources officer, Clark will oversee a department of nearly 20 employees with duties including the negotiation of labor contracts, administering workers’ compensation claims, employee recruitment and retention, analysis of employee benefits and more, according to the news release. —R. Christian Smith, Chicago Tribune, 27 Feb. 2026

The recruitment drive featured over 20 high-tech Taiwanese industry leaders, including Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer known for making Apple iPhones and iPads. —Victoria Baeza Garcia, Dallas Morning News, 27 Feb. 2026

With this six-month trial period, base access for troops will continue and Jamboree assistance is moving forward for now, including recruitment coordination. —Graham Smith, NPR, 27 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1793, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

recruitment

noun

re·​cruit·​ment ri-ˈkrüt-mənt 

1

: the increase in intensity of a reflex when the initiating stimulus is prolonged without alteration of intensity due to the activation of increasing numbers of motor neurons compare reinforcement

2

: an abnormally rapid increase in the sensation of loudness with increasing sound intensity that occurs in deafness of neural origin and especially in neural deafness of the aged in which soft sounds may be completely inaudible while louder sounds are distressingly loud