receive

 
Pronunciation: /rɪˈsiːv/

verb

[with object]
  • 1be given, presented with, or paid (something): the band will receive a £100,000 advance she received her prize from the manager
  • take delivery of (something sent or communicated): he received fifty enquiries after advertising the job
  • consent to hear (an oath or confession): he failed to find a magistrate to receive his oath
  • buy or accept goods known to be stolen: he was deprived of his licence for receiving a stolen load of whisky
  • 2suffer, experience, or be subject to (specified treatment): the event received wide press coverage she received only cuts and bruises
  • [with object and adverbial] respond to (something) in a specified way: her first poem was not well received
  • meet and have to withstand: the landward slopes receive the full force of the wind
  • meet with (a specified reaction): the rulings have received widespread acceptance
  • (as adjective received) widely accepted as authoritative or true: the myths and received wisdom about the country’s past
  • 3greet or welcome (a visitor) formally: representatives of the club will be received by the Mayor
  • be visited by: she was not allowed to receive visitors
  • admit as a member: hundreds of converts were received into the Church
  • 4form (an idea or impression) as a result of perception or experience: the impression she received was one of unhurried leisure
  • 5detect or pick up (broadcast signals): the systems work by comparing time signals received from different satellites
  • 6serve as a receptacle for: the basin that receives your blood
  • provide space or accommodation for: the remaining lines receive the general rolling stock
  • 7(in tennis and similar games) be the player to whom the server serves (the ball).
  • 8eat or drink (the Eucharistic bread or wine): he received Communion and left

Phrases

be at (or on) the receiving end

informal be subjected to something: she found herself on the receiving end of a good deal of teasing

Origin:

Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French receivre, based on Latin recipere, from re- 'back' + capere 'take'

Spelling rule

i before e except after c.