receive

receive [ri sēv′]

vt.

received, receiving [ME receiven < Anglo-Fr receivre < OFr < L recipere < re-, back + capere, to take: see HAVE]

1. to take or get (something given, offered, sent, etc.); acquire or accept

2. to encounter; experience [to receive acclaim]

3. to have inflicted on one; undergo; suffer [to receive a blow]

4. to take the effect or force of; bear [all four wheels receive the weight equally]

5. to react to as specified [a performance that was well received]

6. to apprehend mentally; get knowledge of or information about; learn [to receive news]

7. to accept mentally as authentic, valid, etc.

8.

a) to let enter; admit

b) to have room for; hold; contain [a cistern receives rainwater]

9. to grant admittance to or greet (visitors or guests)

10. Radio TV to detect (a radio or TV transmission) and convert it into sounds or images

11. Sports to catch (a pass, throw, etc.)

vi.

1. to get, accept, take, or acquire something; be a recipient

2. to admit or greet guests or visitors

3. Radio TV to convert incoming electromagnetic waves into sound or light, thus reproducing the sounds or images being transmitted

4. Sports

a) to be the team set to return the ball on a kickoff

b) to be the player or team that returns or attempts to return a serve

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be on the receiving end Informal

1. to be the recipient of a gift, or favor

2. to be the target or victim of an attack

3. Sports to act as the receiver

SYN.- RECEIVE means to get by having something given, told, or imposed, and may or may not imply the consent of the recipient [to receive a gift, a blow, etc. ]; ACCEPT means to receive willingly or favorably, but it sometimes connotes acquiescence rather than explicit approval [he was accepted as a member, to accept the inevitable ]; ADMIT stresses permission or concession on the part of the one that receives [I will not admit him in my home ]; TAKE, in this connection, means to accept something offered or presented [we can't take money from you ] -ANT. GIVE