recent

Recent is an English adjective and adverb used to describe something that has occurred or existed not long ago, or that belongs to the near present. When placed before a noun, it signals proximity in time, as in recent events, recent developments, or the recent past. The adverb form recently describes an action or event that happened not long ago, as in the city was renovated recently.

Etymology traces recent to Latin recens meaning fresh or new, passing into English via Old French and Middle English. The core sense has long conveyed immediacy and freshness relative to the current moment.

Usage notes include distinctions from related terms. Latest refers to the most new item in a sequence, while current describes something ongoing or present. Recent usually implies closeness to the present but not necessarily the exact moment. It can modify countable or uncountable nouns, as in recent discoveries or recent weather. In sentences about time, phrases like in recent years or in recent months are common. The adverb recently is used for actions, while recent tends to modify nouns.

In computing and media, recent is a common UI label for lists or sections that group items by the time of last access or creation, such as Recent files or Recent posts. Recency bias, a related concept, describes the tendency to weights recent events more heavily than earlier ones.

See also: recency, recency bias, recent past, latest, current.