recruit

1 of 2

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

recruit

2 of 2

noun

1

: a fresh or additional supply

2

: a newcomer to a field or activity

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

3

: a former enlisted man of the lowest rank in the army

Synonyms

Verb

• assume
• employ
• engage
• fee [chiefly Scottish]
• hire
• lay on [chiefly British]
• pay
• place
• retain
• sign (up or on)
• take on

Noun

• abecedarian
• apprentice
• babe
• beginner
• colt
• cub
• fledgling
• freshman
• greenhorn
• neophyte
• newbie
• newcomer
• novice
• novitiate
• punk
• rook
• rookie
• tenderfoot
• tyro
• virgin

Examples of recruit in a Sentence

Verb

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.

Noun

the newest recruit on the team

She's one of the department's new recruits.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Aside from the money; aside from communicating, is recruiting those volunteers. —Journal Sentinel, 9 Apr. 2024

To improve their fortunes, the team recruits several talented female ringers, including Kate (model/actress Kate Upton), who wields a mean bat. —Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Apr. 2024

Garza was being recruited by liberals across the continent, but he was also being pursued by U.S. authorities who convinced the Costa Rican government to extradite him. —TIME, 9 Apr. 2024

Neuralink rival Synchron is recruiting patients for a large-scale clinical trial of its brain chip. —Susan Howson, Quartz, 8 Apr. 2024

Calipari has recruited 50 prospects who played in the McDonald’s All American contest. —Richard Davenport, arkansasonline.com, 8 Apr. 2024

Sever and Casper recruited their stormers, from Ukraine’s national basic-training camps. —Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024

Carter recruited Lamar Odom, Kenyon Martin, Tracy McGrady, LeBron James, Sebastian Telfair, and Jamal Crawford. —Abe Beame, Rolling Stone, 7 Apr. 2024

Beebe wasn’t heavily recruited out of Piper High but became the Wildcats’ first consensus All-America offensive lineman. —Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 7 Apr. 2024

Noun

The 6-foot-5 point guard was the No. 1 overall recruit and averaged 16.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while being named to the Pac-12 all-freshman team. —Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024

His office said that the move brought in hundreds of recruits from all over the country. —Adam Shaw, Fox News, 9 Apr. 2024

After his interview with the FBI, Gilbert called the new recruit and asked him to return the credentials and, if ever asked, deny having received them, prosecutors say. —City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2024

High school football recruits get bigger, faster and stronger every year, and the improvements are blending into the track realm. —Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Apr. 2024

The story chronicles a young basketball recruit and how sports gambling changes the game. —Skyler Caruso, Peoplemag, 2 Apr. 2024

Last year, the military services missed recruiting goals by about 41,000 recruits. —Vera Bergengruen, TIME, 1 Apr. 2024

Previous invitees to the game include Mission Viejo cornerback Dijon Lee, who will play in the 2025 game, and receiver Chris Henry, the No. 1 receiver in the country and the No. 1 recruit in the state of California’s 2026 class. —Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 29 Mar. 2024

By automating tedious tasks like scheduling, AI allows employees to devote more time to the personal aspects of their jobs, such as conversing with customers, training new recruits and thinking strategically and creatively about how to improve the overall business experience. —Michael Spataro, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

French recrute, recrue fresh growth, new levy of soldiers, from Middle French, from recroistre to grow up again, from Latin recrescere, from re- + crescere to grow — more at crescent

First Known Use

Verb

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

Noun

1645, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing recruit

• seaman recruit

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

Noun

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