to get or be given something
Did you receive my letter?
Oxford Essential Dictionary
receive
verb (receives, receiving, received ) (formal)
spelling
Remember! When the sound is , there is a spelling rule: I before E, except after C, so you spell receive with EI (not IE).
to get or accept something that somebody has given or sent to you same meaning get:
Did you receive my letter?
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
receive
re‧ceive S1 W1 /rɪˈsiːv/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[Word Family: noun: ↑receipt, receipts, ↑receiver, ↑reception, ↑receivership, ↑receiving, ↑receptionist, ↑receptor; adjective: ↑receptive ≠ UNRECEPTIVE, ↑received; verb: ↑receive]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old North French; Origin: receivre, from Latin recipere, from capere 'to take']
1. BE GIVEN SOMETHING to be given something SYN get:
All the children will receive a small gift.
receive something from somebody
She received an honorary degree from Harvard.
receive attention/affection/support
She received no support from her parents.
receive payment/money/a pension etc
They will be entitled to receive unemployment benefit.
receive a prize/award/gift etc
He went up to receive his award from the mayor.
receive education/training
16 to 18-year-olds receiving full-time education
Lee received 324 votes (=324 people voted for him).
REGISTER
Receive is a rather formal word, which is used especially in written English. In everyday English, people usually use get.
▪ What did you get for your birthday?
▪ She got a degree from York University.
2. BE SENT SOMETHING formal to get a letter, message, or telephone call, or something which someone has sent you
receive something from somebody
He received a letter from his insurance company.
If you would like to receive further information, return the attached form.
We have received numerous complaints about the noise.
3. TREATMENT formal if you receive a particular type of medical treatment, it is done to you:
He received hospital treatment for a cut over his eye.
4. REACTION TO SOMETHING [usually passive] to react in a particular way to a suggestion, idea, performance etc ⇨ reception:
The film was well received by critics (=they said it was good).
He received the news in silence.
5. be on/at the receiving end (of something) to be the person who is affected by someone else’s actions, usually in an unpleasant way:
She found herself on the receiving end of racist abuse.
6. receive an injury/blow formal to be injured or hit
7. PEOPLE formal to officially accept someone as a guest or member of a group
receive guests/visitors
She isn’t well enough to receive visitors yet.
receive somebody into something
She was later received into the Church.
8. BY RADIO
a) if a radio or television receives radio waves or other signals, it makes them become sounds or pictures
b) to be able to hear a radio message that someone is sending:
Receiving you loud and clear!'
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
receive / rɪˈsiːv / verb [ T ] (GET)
A2 to get or be given something:
Did you receive my letter?
I received a phone call from your mother.
They received a visit from the police.
She died after receiving a blow to the head.
Members of Parliament received a 4.2 percent pay increase this year.
(of a radio or television) to change a signal into sounds and pictures
→ See also reception (RADIO/TELEVISION)
to be able to hear someone's voice when they are communicating with you by radio:
I'm receiving you loud and clear .
Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
receive
[rɪsi͟ːv]
receives, receiving, received
1) VERB When you receive something, you get it after someone gives it to you or sends it to you.
[V n] They will receive their awards at a ceremony in Stockholm...
[V n] I received your letter of November 7.
Syn:
get
2) VERB You can use receive to say that certain kinds of thing happen to someone. For example if they are injured, you can say that they received an injury.
[V n] He received more of the blame than anyone when the plan failed to work...
[V n] She was suffering from whiplash injuries received in a car crash.
3) VERB When you receive a visitor or a guest, you greet them.
[V n] The following evening the duchess was again receiving guests...
[V n] The shop assistant received me indifferently while leaning on a counter.
4) VERB: usu passive If you say that something is received in a particular way, you mean that people react to it in that way.
[be V-ed prep/adv] The resolution had been received with great disappointment within the PLO...
[be V-ed with adv] The proposals have been well received by many deputies.
5) VERB When a radio or television receives signals that are being transmitted, it picks them up and converts them into sound or pictures.
[V n] The reception was a little faint but clear enough for him to receive the signal. [Also V]
6) VERB If someone receives stolen goods, they buy or are given things that have been stolen [mainly BRIT, LEGAL]
[V n] He went to prison for receiving stolen scrap iron...
[V n] He received the shoes when stolen, and then passed them on to the men who would sell them.
Syn:
fence(in AM, use handle)
7) PHRASE If you are on the receiving end or at the receiving end of something unpleasant, you are the person that it happens to.
You saw hate in their eyes and you were on the receiving end of that hate...
Bullying can indeed be distressing and frightening for those at the receiving end.
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
receive
re·ceive /rɪˈsiːv/ verb -ceives; -ceived; -ceiv·ing
1 [+ obj] : to get or be given (something)
• You will be charged a late fee if the electric company does not receive your payment on time.
• I received a letter/call from her yesterday.
• You will receive a discount if you spend over $100.
• This spring he'll receive [=be awarded] his PhD in physics.
2 [+ obj] : to react to (something) in a specified way
• She received the news of his death with remarkable calmness.
- often used as (be) received
• Her new book was well/poorly received by the critics. [=the critics liked/disliked her new book]
• The results of the study were received with considerable skepticism.
3 [+ obj] formal : to welcome (someone) in usually a formal way
• The ambassador received [=greeted] his guests as they arrived at the party.
4 [+ obj] : to accept (someone) as a member of an organization, church, etc. - + into
• She was received into the church/university.
5 [+ obj]
a : to suffer (an injury)
• He received [=got] a broken nose when he slipped and fell on the ice.
b : to be given (a punishment)
• She received a heavy sentence from the judge.
6 [+ obj] : to experience or take (a medical treatment)
• He receives an injection once a week to treat his allergies.
• Only one of the patients receiving the new treatment is experiencing bad side effects.
• He received a kidney transplant.
7 [+ obj]
a : to get (signals that are sent to a television, radio, etc.)
• We were unable to receive the broadcast.
• A satellite receives the signals and then sends them back to earth.
b : to be able to hear (someone who is talking to you on a radio)
• I'm receiving you loud and clear.
8 American football : to be the player or team to which the ball is kicked when play begins
[no obj]
• They won the coin toss and chose to receive.
[+ obj]
• They chose to receive the kickoff.
9 [+ obj] law : to buy or take (goods that have been stolen) illegally
• He was found guilty of receiving stolen goods.
on/at the receiving end
✦If you are on/at the receiving end of something bad or unpleasant, you are the person it is directed at.
• It's not often that I find myself on the receiving end of such insults.