Definition

1. Noun:
   • The act of moving back or withdrawing: A general movement backward or away from a previous position.
   • A period of temporary economic decline: A significant, widespread, and prolonged downturn in economic activity, typically marked by a decline in GDP, income, employment, and trade lasting for several months or more.
   • A receding or hollow area: A small, shallow indentation or concave feature.
   • A formal withdrawal in a religious ceremony: The ceremonial movement of the clergy and choir from the chancel to the vestry at the conclusion of a church service.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Economic Decline):
  • The country entered a deep recession following the financial crisis.
  • Many businesses struggled to survive during the recession.
• Noun (Act of Moving Back):
  • The slow recession of the glacier left behind a new landscape.
  • The tide's recession revealed shells on the beach.
• Noun (Hollow Area):
  • They built the bookshelf into a recession in the wall.
• Noun (Religious Ceremony):
  • The procession during the recession is a solemn part of the service.

Advanced Usage

• "Double-dip recession": A situation where an economy enters a recession, begins to recover, but then falls back into recession before achieving a full recovery.
  • Economists fear the possibility of a double-dip recession.
• "Technical recession": A common definition based on two consecutive quarters of decline in a country's real Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
  • The GDP figures confirmed the economy was in a technical recession.

Variants and Related Words

• Recede (verb): To move back or away; to become more distant.
  • The floodwaters finally began to recede.
• Recess (noun/verb): As a noun, it can mean a break or a hollow space. As a verb, it means to take a break or to place into a recess.
  • The court is in recess. / They decided to recess the meeting until tomorrow.
• Recessional (adjective/noun): Pertaining to a recession or withdrawal; a hymn sung during a religious recession.
  • The recessional hymn marked the end of the ceremony.

Synonyms

• Downturn: A decline in economic or business activity.
• Slump: A sudden severe or prolonged fall in economic activity or prices.
• Contraction: In economics, a period of economic decline.
• Withdrawal: The action of withdrawing or moving back.

Antonyms

• Boom: A period of rapid economic growth.
• Expansion: A period of economic growth or the act of becoming larger.
• Advance: A forward movement or progress.

Related Phrases

• "Into recession": Describes the action of an economy entering a period of recession.
  • The latest data suggests the economy is sliding into recession.
• "Out of recession": Describes the recovery phase where an economy exits a recession.
  • It took three years for the country to come out of recession.

Noun

1. the act of becoming more distant
2. the act of ceding back
3. the withdrawal of the clergy and choir from the chancel to the vestry at the end of a church service
4. a small concavity
5. the state of the economy declines; a widespread decline in the GDP and employment and trade lasting from six months to a year