recess

/ɹɪˈsɛs/

//ɹɪˈsɛs// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"recess" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“recess” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,396. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,396
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
16
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A depressed, hollow, or indented space; also, a hole or opening.

Corpus desk

Index EN-recess · recess · English

recess · rank #14,396 · 7 variants · 16 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #14,396
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 16 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH rebound

Nearest frequency peer: rebound (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “recess”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “recess” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

recess vs Reese
50% similar
recess vs Reyes
50% similar
recess vs reels
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for recess
PropertyValue
Headwordrecess
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹɪˈsɛs/
Letters6
Frequency rank#14,396
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “recess”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).recesslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “rebound” (#14,395), “redeem” (#14,397), “reap” (#14,394). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “recess” is #14,396. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around recess (IPA /ɹɪˈsɛs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #14,396 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 18 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for recess, with forms such as "ercess", "rceess", and "reccess". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 16 confusable-pair relationships, "Reese", "Reyes", "reels", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is borrowed from Latin recessus (“act of going back, departure, receding, retiring; (figuratively) retreat, withdrawal; (metonymically) distant, secluded, or secret spot, corner, nook, retreat; recessed part, indentation”) (also Late Latin recessus… The correct English form is recess, spelled R-E-C-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A depressed, hollow, or indented space; also, a hole or opening.
  2. 2
    A depressed, hollow, or indented space; also, a hole or opening.
  3. 3
    A depressed, hollow, or indented space; also, a hole or opening.
  4. 4
    A hidden, innermost, or inaccessible place or part of a place.
  5. 5
    A hidden, innermost, or inaccessible place or part of a place.
  6. 6
    A hidden, innermost, or inaccessible place or part of a place.
  7. 7
    A temporary stoppage of an activity; a break, a pause.
  8. 8
    A temporary stoppage of an activity; a break, a pause.
  9. 9
    A temporary stoppage of an activity; a break, a pause.
  10. 10
    An act of retiring or withdrawing; a moving back.
  11. 11
    A decree or resolution of the diet of the Holy Roman Empire or the Hanseatic League.
  12. 12
    An act of retiring or withdrawing from public life, society, etc.; also, an act of living in retirement or seclusion, or a period of such retirement or seclusion.
  13. 13
    Leisure, relaxation.
  14. 14
    The state of being withdrawn.
  15. 15
    A departure from a norm or position.
  16. 16
    A time interval during which something ceases; an interruption, a respite.
  17. 17
    An overall-concave, reentrant section of a sinuous fold and thrust belt, thrust sheet, or a single thrust fault, caused by one or more of: deformation (folding and faulting) of strata and geologic structures during orogenesis, differences in the angle of critical taper during orogenesis, or differing erosional level of the present geomorphological surface.
  18. 18
    An extension or outpouching of a cavity (e.g. articular recess, peritoneal recess,...)

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how recess appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Put a generous recess behind the handle for finger space.
  2. [T]he Sun, the great eye of the vvorld, prying into the receſſes of rocks, and the hollovvneſſe of valleys, receives ſpecies, or viſible forms from theſe objects, but he beholds them onely by that light vvhich proceeds from himſelf: […]

Etymology

The noun is borrowed from Latin recessus (“act of going back, departure, receding, retiring; (figuratively) retreat, withdrawal; (metonymically) distant, secluded, or secret spot, corner, nook, retreat; recessed part, indentation”) (also Late Latin recessus (“decree or resolution of the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire”)), from recēdō (“to go back, recede, retire, withdraw; to go away, depart; (by extension) to disappear, vanish; to separate; to stand back, be distant; to yield”) (from re- (prefix meaning ‘back, backwards’) + cēdō (“to go, move, proceed”)) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns from verbs); influenced by Middle French recès, French recès (“a break, pause; break between classes in school; school vacation; ebbing of tide; reduction”) (also Anglo-Norman recès and Old French recès (“hiding place; hollow”). Noun sense 5 (“decree or resolution of the diet of the Holy Roman Empire, etc.”) is possibly influenced by Italian recesso and refers to a decree or resolution made just before a meeting ends. The adjective and verb are derived from the noun. Cognates * Catalan recés * Italian recesso * Middle French recès (modern French recès) * Portuguese recesso * Spanish receso

This word in other languages

receso(Español)recès(Français)Nische(Deutsch)recesso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ercess
  • rceess
  • reccess
  • reces
  • recses
  • reecss
  • rrecess

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of recess - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ercess2rceess2reccess1reces1recses2reecss2rrecess1
Edit distance from "recess"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "recess"?
"recess" is spelled R-E-C-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɪˈsɛs/.
What does "recess" mean?
As a noun, "recess" means: A depressed, hollow, or indented space; also, a hole or opening.
What words are commonly confused with "recess"?
"recess" is commonly confused with "Reese", "Reyes", "reels". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "recess"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "recess" is /ɹɪˈsɛs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "recess"?
The noun is borrowed from Latin recessus (“act of going back, departure, receding, retiring; (figuratively) retreat, withdrawal; (metonymically) distant, secluded, or secret spot, corner, nook, retreat; recessed part, indentation”) (also Late Lati... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "recess", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

redeem#14,397quirky#14,388runoff#14,404Rwanda#14,405

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Quran7 variantsmarrow7 variantsswore7 variantsmadden7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list