Real Dictionary

recognize
If someone says that they recognize something, they acknowledge that it exists or that it is true.
If you recognize someone or something, you know who that person is or what that thing is.
verb: If people or organizations recognize something as valid, they officially accept it or approve of it.
verb: When people recognize the work that someone has done, they show their appreciation of it, often by giving that person an award of some kind.

recognize in Accounting
verb: If you recognize a transaction, you record it as occurring in a particular period.

recognize in American English
to be aware of as something or someone known before, or as the same as that known
transitive verb: to identify as something or someone previously seen, known, etc.

recognize in British English
to perceive (a person, creature, or thing) to be the same as or belong to the same class as something previously seen or known; know again