re·cess (r??s?s?, r?-s?s?)n.1. a. A temporary cessation of the customary activities of an engagement, occupation, or pursuit: The chairman of the committee called for a recess until Thursday. See Synonyms at pause.b. A period in the school day during which students are given time to play or relax.2. often recesses A remote, secret, or secluded place: a bird that lives deep in the recesses of the forest.3. a. An indentation or small hollow: Dirt accumulated in the recesses of the statue.b. An alcove.v. re·cessed, re·cess·ing, re·cess·es v.tr.1. To place in a recess.2. To create or fashion a recess in: recessed a portion of the wall.3. To suspend for a recess: The committee chair recessed the hearings.v.intr. To take a recess: The investigators recessed for lunch.[Latin recessus, retreat, from past participle of rec?dere, to recede; see recede1.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.recess n 1. a space, such as a niche or alcove, set back or indented 2. (often plural) a secluded or secret place: recesses of the mind. 3. a cessation of business, such as the closure of Parliament during a vacation 4. (Anatomy) anatomy a small cavity or depression in a bodily organ, part, or structure 5. (Education) US and Canadian a break between classes at a school vb (tr) 6. to place or set (something) in a recess7. (Building) to build a recess or recesses in (a wall, building, etc) [C16: from Latin recessus a retreat, from rec?dere to recede]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014re?cess (r??s?s, ?ri s?s) n. 1. a temporary withdrawal or cessation from the usual work or activity; break. 2. a period of such withdrawal: a five-minute recess. 3. a receding part or space, as an alcove in a room. 4. an indentation, as in a coastline or a hill. 5. recesses, a secluded or inner area or part: in the recesses of the palace. v.t. 6. to place or set in a recess. 7. to set or form as or like a recess: to recess a wall. 8. to suspend or defer for a recess: to recess the Senate. v.i. 9. to take a recess. [1510?20;