receive

Syllables: re·ceiveUK/ɹɪˈsiːv//ɹɪˈsiv/

receive verb: to be given, sent, or paid something.

Verb

receive (third-person singular simple present receives, present participle receiving, simple past and past participle received)

(transitive) To be given, sent, or paid something.
- He received many presents for his birthday.
- Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village bailiff, going his round like a commanding officer...1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXXIX, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 305
(dated, transitive) To take, as something that is offered; to accept.
- He had the offer of employment, but he would not receive it.
- Our hearts receiue your warnings.c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
To take goods knowing them to be stolen.
(transitive) To act as a host for guests; to give admittance to; to permit to enter, as into one's house, presence, company, etc.
- to receive a lodger, visitor, ambassador, messenger, etc.
- And the barbarous people ſhewed vs no little kindneſſe: for they kindled a fire, and receiued us euery one becauſe of the preſent raine, and becauſe of the cold.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 28:2, column 1
Synonyms:

have
(transitive) To incur (an injury).
- I received a bloody nose from the collision.
- But because this is oftentimes dangerous, and much hurt hath been received thereby through casualty of fire, I advise the sticking four stakes into the earth, at least five feet above the ground [...]1804, Robert Wissett, On the Cultivation and Preparation of Hemp
To allow (a custom, tradition, etc.); to give credence or acceptance to.
- For the Phariſes and all the Jewes, except they waſh their hands oft, eate not, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market, except they waſh, they eate not. And many other things there be, which they have receiued to hold, as the waſhing of cups and pots, braſen...1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 7:3–4, column 2
To detect a signal from a transmitter.
(badminton) To be in a position to hit back a service.
To be in a position to catch a forward pass.
(intransitive, transitive) To accept into the mind; to understand.
- I cannot receive [translating recevoir] that manner, whereby we establish the continuance of our life.1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 57, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC

Noun

receive (plural receives)

An operation in which data is received.
- In the sonification of the PDE code, notes are scattered throughout a wide pitch range, and sends and receives are relatively balanced; although in the beginning of the application there are bursts of sends […]1992, Tara M. Madhyastha, A Portable System for Data Sonification, page 71

receive meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

receive in Hindi

to take possession of: लेना lenā
to take what is offered, accept from another: प्राप्त करना prāpt karnā, अगवानी करना agvānī karnā, ग्रहण करना grahaṇ karnā, लेना lenā

receive in Urdu

داخل کرنا, حاصل کرنا, ماننا, پانا, وصول کرنا

receive in Bengali

to take what is offered, accept from another: পাওয়া paōẇa

More languagesFewer languages

receive in Telugu: గ్రహించు grahiñcu
receive in Malayalam: വാങ്ങുക vāṅṅuka, സ്വീകരിക്കുക svīkarikkuka
receive in Kannada: ಪಡೆ, ಎದುರುಗೊಳ್ಳು, ಸ್ವೀಕರಿಸು, ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳು
receive in Gujarati: મળવું maḷvũ
receive in Sanskrit: स्वीकरोति svīkaroti, या yā
receive in Assamese: লাভ কৰা labh kora
receive in Tagalog: tumanggap
receive in Arabic: اِسْتَلَمَ istalama, اِسْتَقْبَلَ istaqbala, يَسْتَقْبِل yastaqbil, الاِسْتِقبَال
receive in Malay: terima
receive in Persian: دریافت کردن daryâft kardan, گرفتن gereftan
receive in Thai: รับ ráp
receive in Vietnamese: nhận, lĩnh, thu
receive in Myanmar: ခံ hkam

Examples of receive in a sentence

Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXXIX, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page...
Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result.2013 May 25, “No hiding place”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8837, London: Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the...
The idea of solidity we receive by our touch.1689, John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding:

All 40 example sentences with receive

Synonyms of receive

13 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of receive

Forms of receive

Verb
third-person singular present	receives
present participle	receiving
past participle	received
past	received
second-person singular present (archaic)	receivest
second-person singular past (archaic)	receivedst
third-person singular present (archaic)	receiveth
alternative form (obsolete)	receave
alternative form (obsolete)	receyve
Noun
plural	receives

Past tense of receive: received

Origin of receive

From Middle English receyven, from Old French receivre, from Latin recipere (“take back, accept, etc.”), from re- (“back”) + capiō (“to take”); see capacious. Compare conceive, deceive, perceive. Displaced native Middle English terms in -fon/-fangen (e.g. afon, anfon, afangen, underfangen, etc. "to receive" from Old English -fōn), native Middle English thiggen (“to receive”) (from Old English þiċġan), and non-native Middle English aquilen, enquilen (“to receive”) (from Old French aquillir, encueillir).

Words formed from receive

Words that rhyme with receive

45 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about receive

What does receive mean?: Receive means to be given, sent, or paid something.
What is receive in Hindi?: Receive in Hindi is लेना (lenā), प्राप्त करना (prāpt karnā), अगवानी करना (agvānī karnā). See Receive meaning in Hindi.
How do you use receive in a sentence?: Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare.
What part of speech is receive?: Receive can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce receive?: Receive is pronounced /ɹɪˈsiːv/ (UK).
What is the past tense of receive?: The past tense of receive is received.

Words near receive in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-receive.ogg.

Cite this entry: “receive.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/receive. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.