1. A bond or obligation of record entered into before a court of record or a magistrate, binding a person to do a particular act: Tom's recognizance required him to clean up the park every day for six months.
2. A formal agreement made by someone before a judge or magistrate to do something: Jim was released on his own recognizance to appear in court on a specified date.

Usually a person will be granted a release on personal recognizance when it is deemed by officials that it is highly unlikely that he or she will fail to appear in court.

3. A security agreed upon before a court with a requirement to perform some task ordered by law; otherwise, if the task is not complied with a penalty will be enforced: The recognizance that the judge demanded of the convicted woman was not fulfilled and so she had to serve a period of time in jail.