From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishrecentre‧cent /ˈriːsənt/ ●●● S2 W1 adjective RECENTLYhaving happened or started only a short time ago Irving’s most recent book recent research into the causes of cancerin recent years/months/times etc The situation has improved in recent years. the recent past► see thesaurus at newRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say in the last/past few weeks/months/years etc rather than in recent weeks/months etc: Things have been pretty busy in the last few weeks.
Examples from the Corpus
recent• More recent bands are cashing in on the couch craze.• Pessimistic early predictions seem to be confirmed by more recent data.• At Darthea Speyer until the end of next month the recent drawings of Lionel Guibout are on show.• Eccleshall also finds backing here from one of the recent histories of the late Victorian and Edwardian Conservative Party.• He hadn't completely recovered from his recent illness.• The recent movie version of the book was not a big success.• a recent poll of voters• Doctors had advised Mrs Menzies not to attend the trial, following her recent release from hospital.• A recent report said that small amounts of alcohol are good for the health.• A recent study of Open University graduates found that students aged 60 - 65 had better results than any other age group.• The team returned to a heroes' welcome after their recent success in the European Championships.• Anything that happened after World War II is too recent to be considered "history."• There will be an exhibition of his most recent work at the Tate Gallery, starting this Saturday.• In recent years, Hillcrest has become a center for festivals attracting people from throughout the region.• It also asks about their work, their educational qualifications, and whether they have moved house in recent years.in recent years/months/times etc• For this reason a certain amount of confusion about the scoring system has arisen in recent years.• If so, has the relationship between these elements changed in recent years?• Reduced expectations have shown up in many public opinion polls taken in recent years.• They offer one of the most intriguing views of the earth to emerge in recent years.• The gun industry has been plagued in recent years by lawsuits from cities, states and individuals.• The two countries have been criticised in recent months for insisting on maintaining sanctions in spite of the catastrophic impact on civilians.• Indeed, my mailbag suggests part of the buyer bullying in recent years has been in the smaller multiple ranks.Origin recent (1400-1500) French Latin recens “fresh, recent” 