I do understand the word "recess" refers to a break time in a school. However, can I say "recess" for other situations as well? Like a break time in the work, perhaps?

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Yes, you can use "recess" for other situations! It's used commonly in court when you take a break during a case. You can use "recess" when you want to take a break during a meeting. However, I would say it's less common for individual work breaks. Ex: Good job, team! Let's take a brief recess and come back to the board room in five minutes. Ex: After a month's recess, we went back to court.

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