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!'