Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A cession or granting back; retrocession: as, the recession of conquered territory to its former sovereign.
  • noun The act of receding or going back; withdrawal; retirement, as from a position reached or from a demand made.
  • noun The state of being put back; a position relatively withdrawn.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act of receding or withdrawing, as from a place, a claim, or a demand.
  • noun (Economics) A period during which economic activity, as measured by gross domestic product, declines for at least two quarters in a row in a specific country. If the decline is severe and long, such as greater than ten percent, it may be termed a depression.
  • noun A procession in which people leave a ceremony, such as at a religious service.
  • noun The act of ceding back; restoration; repeated cession.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The act or an instance of receding
  • noun A period of reduced economic activity
  • noun The ceremonial filing out of clergy and/or choir at the end of a church service.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

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

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Recorded since 1929, from recess + -ion, from Latin recessus ("a going back, retreat"), from recessum, the past participle of recedere ("to recede"), from re- ("back") + cedere ("to go")

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Examples

Comments

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  • "But because political discourse is controlled by people who put the accumulation of money above all other ends, this policy appears to be impossible. Unpleasant as it will be, it is hard to see what except an accidental recession could prevent economic growth from blowing us through Canaan and into the desert on the other side." - 'Bring on the Recession', George Monbiot, 9 Oct 2007.

    December 12, 2007

  • Don't call two quarters of GDP decline a "traditional" definition of "recession." The recent convention often is rejected as simplistic. A "recession" ends when a decline hits bottom. It doesn’t mean the economy has recovered, says the National Bureau of Economic Research. The NBER defines “recession” as “significant decline in economic activity lasting more than a few months.” It runs from a peak to a trough.

    September 12, 2011

  • It's all voodoo anyway.

    September 13, 2011