What does recession mean economically?

Question

What does recession mean economically?

Answer 1

It means that the major economies either stop growing or even start shrinking.

The symptoms are a crisis in consumer spending and increasing unemployment that create a spiral of a society withdrawing from its own economical activity.  This leads to financial stagnation and is not misnamed when called a depression.

Answer 2

The official definition is '2 quarters where there is a fall (usually called negative growth for some reason) in GDP, Gross Domestic Product'.

Answer 3

It means two quarters of growth in which economic activity has slowed or has even become negative.

When this becomes particularly severe, it is called a depression.