recognition

The word “recognition” means the act of identifying someone or something as already known. In plain terms, identifying something familiar, or being formally acknowledged/credited for something.

“Recognition” is pronounced reh-kuhg-NIHSHN (/ˌɹɛkəɡˈnɪʃ(ə)n/ in IPA).

Here is “recognition” used in a sentence: “A flicker of recognition crossed her face when she saw him.”

“Recognition” is a noun.

The word “recognition” comes from Latin. From Latin recognitio, "a re-examining," itself from recognoscere, "to know again" (re- + cognoscere, "to learn, come to know").

“Recognition” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Recognition” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the act of identifying someone or something as already known.

Both are ways of remembering. Recognition is identifying something as already known when you meet it again — spotting a familiar face or the right answer in a list. Recall is retrieving it from memory with no prompt, like naming the answer from scratch. Recognition is usually the easier of the two.

In technology, common forms include facial recognition, voice or speech recognition, handwriting recognition and pattern recognition, all of which identify something as a known match. In everyday life, recognition can mean identifying a person, place or object you have met before. A separate sense means public credit or acknowledgement.

In this sense, recognition means identifying someone or something as already known. Acknowledgement means admitting or accepting that something is true or exists. The words overlap in the separate sense of giving credit — "recognition for good work" — but the core meaning here is about spotting the familiar.

Seeing an old classmate across a room and instantly knowing who they are is recognition. So is a phone unlocking when it identifies your face, or a shopper spotting a familiar brand on a shelf. In each case the mind matches what it senses to something already stored.