RECLINE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does recline mean? 

• RECLINE (verb)
  The verb RECLINE has 3 senses:

1. move the upper body backwards and down

2. cause to recline

3. lean in a comfortable resting position

  Familiarity information: RECLINE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RECLINE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they recline    ... he / she / it reclines   
Past simple: reclined   
Past participle: reclined   
-ing form: reclining   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Move the upper body backwards and down

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

lean back; recline

Hypernyms (to "recline" is one way to...):

angle; lean; slant; tilt; tip (to incline or bend from a vertical position)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "recline"):

fall back (fall backwards and down)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

reclining (the act of assuming or maintaining a reclining position)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Cause to recline

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

She reclined her head on the pillow

Hypernyms (to "recline" is one way to...):

lay; place; pose; position; put; set (put into a certain place or abstract location)

Verb group:

recline; recumb; repose (lean in a comfortable resting position)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

recliner (an armchair whose back can be lowered and foot can be raised to allow the sitter to recline in it)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Lean in a comfortable resting position

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

recline; recumb; repose

Context example:

He was reposing on the couch

Hypernyms (to "recline" is one way to...):

lie (be lying, be prostrate; be in a horizontal position)

Verb group:

recline (cause to recline)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "recline"):

rest (be at rest)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence examples:

The children recline in the rocking chair
There recline some children in the rocking chair

Derivation:

reclining (the act of assuming or maintaining a reclining position)

 Context examples 

A disorder characterized by episodes of respiratory distress, usually occurring after several hours of sleep in a reclining position.

(Dyspnea Paroxysmal Nocturnal, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Lying down or reclining with the left side in a downward direction.

(Left Lateral Decubitus Position, NCI Thesaurus)

With a shrill cry of anger a man rose from a reclining chair beside the fire.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Half reclined on a couch appeared Mr. Rochester, his foot supported by the cushion; he was looking at Adele and the dog: the fire shone full on his face.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

When I came in view again the cloud had passed, and the moonlight struck so brilliantly that I could see Lucy half reclining with her head lying over the back of the seat.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Their heads were all reclined, either to the right, or the left; one of their eyes turned inward, and the other directly up to the zenith.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

Lady Brackenstall was reclining on the same couch, but looked brighter than before.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Lying down or reclining with one side of the body in a downward direction.

(Lateral Decubitus Position, NCI Thesaurus)

A structure that permits a subject to recline; it can be used for sleeping or for positioning a subject for a procedure.

(Bed, NCI Thesaurus)

She threw open a door as she spoke, and there, in a reclining chair at the further end of the room, we caught a glimpse of a figure all lumped together, huge and shapeless, with tails of black hair hanging down.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)