receive

/rəˈsiv/

/rɪˈsiv/

Other forms: received; receiving; receives

Receive means to get or accept. On your birthday you might receive many presents. If you have a huge formal party that night, you'll stand in a receiving line, where you'll greet or receive your guests.

Unless you're receiving bad news or a stiff reprimand, receive can be pretty great. If one of your gifts is a trip to a spa, you might receive the news with pleasure, and then, when you go to the spa, receive several treatments. And remember, receive is one of those words that you have to say, "I before E, except after C, or when sounding like A, as in neighbor or weigh," before knowing how to spell it.

Definitions of receive
  1. verb
    get something; come into possession of
    “receive payment”
    “receive a gift”
    “receive letters from the front”
    synonyms: have
    accept, have, take
    receive willingly something given or offered
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    types:
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    take in, take up
    accept
    hustle
    get by trying hard
    accept
    receive (a report) officially, as from a committee
    fence
    deal stolen goods
    graduate
    receive an academic degree upon completion of one's studies
    inherit
    receive by genetic transmission
    fuel
    take in fuel, as of a ship
    type of:
    acquire, get
    come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
  2. verb
    go through (mental or physical states or experiences)
    “receive injuries”
    synonyms: experience, get, have
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    types:
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    get, have, suffer, sustain
    undergo (as of injuries and illnesses)
    take
    experience or feel or submit to
    horripilate
    have one's hair stand on end and get goosebumps
    break down, collapse
    collapse due to fatigue, an illness, or a sudden attack
    cramp
    suffer from sudden painful contraction of a muscle
    break up, collapse, crack, crack up, crock up
    suffer a nervous breakdown
    type of:
    undergo
    pass through
  3. verb
    receive as a retribution or punishment
    synonyms: get
    catch, get
    suffer from the receipt of
  4. verb
    experience as a reaction
    synonyms: encounter, meet
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    type of:
    experience, have
    undergo
  5. verb
    partake of the Holy Eucharist sacrament
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    type of:
    partake, touch
    consume
  6. verb
    receive a specified treatment (abstract)
    “His movie received a good review”
    synonyms: find, get, incur, obtain
    acquire, get
    come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
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    types:
    take
    ascertain or determine by measuring, computing or take a reading from a dial
    type of:
    change
    undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature
  7. verb
    regard favorably or with disapproval
    “Her new collection of poems was not well received”
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    type of:
    consider, reckon, regard, see, view
    deem to be
  8. verb
    register (perceptual input)
    synonyms: pick up
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    types:
    hear
    receive a communication from someone
    type of:
    comprehend, perceive
    become aware of through the senses
  9. verb
    convert into sounds or pictures
    “receive the incoming radio signals”
    see moresee less
    type of:
    convert
    change the nature, purpose, or function of something
  10. verb
    accept as true or valid
    “He received Christ”
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    type of:
    accept
    consider or hold as true
  11. verb
    bid welcome to; greet upon arrival
    synonyms: welcome
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    Antonyms:
    say farewell
    say good-bye or bid farewell
    type of:
    greet, recognise, recognize
    express greetings upon meeting someone
  12. verb
    express willingness to have in one's home or environs
    “The community warmly received the refugees”
    synonyms: invite, take in
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    types:
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    welcome
    receive someone, as into one's house
    absorb
    assimilate or take in
    see
    receive as a specified guest
    assume
    take up someone's soul into heaven
    induct
    admit as a member
  13. verb
    have or give a reception
    “The lady is receiving Sunday morning”
    see moresee less
    type of:
    celebrate, fete
    have a celebration
Pronunciation
US

/rəˈsiv/
UK

/rɪˈsiv/
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘receive'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family

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