receive

Less common meanings

4. 4
   verbarchaictransitive or intransitive

   To take an idea or information into the mind; to understand it.

   I cannot receive [translating recevoir] that manner, whereby we establish the continuance of our life.

   1603, Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes

   Similarabsorb, grasp, understand, assimilate

   Note

   This sense means taking something into the mind, and it sits close to accepting it as sound. John Florio's 1603 translation of Montaigne's Essayes uses it to render French recevoir: "I cannot receive that manner, whereby we establish the continuance of our life." The sense falls between agreeing and understanding.

5. 5
   suffer harmverbtransitive

   To suffer or sustain an injury.

   She received serious burns in the kitchen fire.

   Soldiers receive wounds that take months to heal.

   Similarsuffer, sustain, incur

   Oppositeinflict

6. 6
   stolen goodsverbtransitive

   To take possession of goods while knowing them to be stolen.

   People who receive stolen property may face prosecution.

   The dealer received crates of stolen electronics for resale.

   UsageUsually with the object named: receive stolen goods, receive stolen property. The crime itself is often called receiving stolen property.

   Similarhandle

7. 7
   football catchverbtransitive or intransitive

   To be positioned to catch a forward pass in football.

   The tight end slipped into open space near the sideline, ready to receive.

   She receives well, rarely dropping a pass thrown her way.

   Note

   American football uses the same idea of readiness as the racket sports, but here the ball is caught and kept, not hit back. The pass is a forward pass thrown by a teammate. A player therefore receives from their own side, unlike the tennis player who faces an opponent's serve. Source

   Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Receiving a football pass involves catching and controlling the ball. operations.nfl.com
   • The forward pass received in this sense is thrown by a teammate. en.wikipedia.org
   • A tennis receiver prepares to return the opposing server's ball. itftennis.com
8. 8
   pick up signalsverbtransitive

   To pick up a signal sent out by a transmitter, as a radio or satellite dish does.

   The satellite dish receives broadcasts from orbit.

   Older radios could not receive digital signals clearly.

   UsageThe subject is usually equipment: a radio, dish or antenna receives. Its opposite is transmit.

   Similardetect, get

   Oppositetransmit

9. 9
   accept beliefverbtransitive

   To accept a custom, tradition, or belief, giving it credence.

   Medieval scholars received the works of Aristotle as authoritative, and few dared to question his account of the heavens.

   Scholars no longer receive that doctrine as established fact.

   UsageMost common today in set phrases: received wisdom, received opinion (ideas accepted as handed down, not freshly examined).

   Similaraccept, embrace, adopt

   Oppositereject

   Note

   What is taken in here is a belief or practice. The King James Bible of 1611 speaks of customs the Pharisees "have received," holding the tradition of the elders. Unlike the "understand" meaning, it is about accepting something as true, not grasping it.

10. 10
    return serveverbtransitive or intransitive

    To be positioned to return an opponent's serve.

    He crouched low, preparing to receive the serve.

    He stood well behind the baseline when receiving against big servers, giving himself an extra moment to react.

    UsageUsually with serve or service as the object (receive serve), or with none: ready to receive.

    Similarreturn

    Oppositeserve

    Note

    In tennis, badminton and squash, the word is about readiness more than contact. The player is set to receive before the ball or shuttle is even struck. It belongs to a small group of game senses about being where the ball or shuttle will arrive, either to hit it back or, in the football pass-catching use, to take it.

11. 11
    noun

    A single operation in which data is taken in by a device.