Recedes

Recedes is the third-person singular present tense form of the verb recede. The verb derives from Latin recedere, from re- “back” + cedere “to go.” In general use, recede means to move back or away from a previous position, to withdraw, or to fall back.

It can describe physical movement, such as water or land retreating: the tide recedes, or a shoreline recedes as erosion advances; crowds may recede from a plaza after an event. It can also describe a decrease in intensity or significance: fear recedes, support for a policy recedes, or a crisis recedes as conditions improve. In dentistry, gingival recession refers to the backward movement of the gum line, exposing tooth roots. In astronomy and cosmology, recession describes objects moving away from the observer, often due to the expansion of the universe; galaxies recede from us, commonly inferred from redshift.

In art and literature, something may recede into the background, or memories may recede with time, signaling a shift in focus or prominence. Grammatically, recede is typically intransitive and is used with prepositional phrases such as recede from, recede into, or recede into the background.

See also: recession (the process or result of receding), receded (past tense), receding hairline, shoreline recession, and recession in economic terms.