reception

noun

ri-SEP-shuhn/ɹɪˈsɛp.ʃn̩/

9 meanings of reception

1
nouncountable or uncountable
The front desk at a hotel or office where guests check in and get help.
Like the welcome desk you walk up to when you first enter a building.
Please leave your key at reception when you check out.
She waited at reception until someone came to help her.
Note
2
nouncountable or uncountable
A party held to welcome someone or celebrate a special event.
Like a welcome party held for someone special.
They held a reception right after the wedding.
Guests gathered at the reception to congratulate the new ambassador.
Similarparty, function, gathering
3
nouncountable or uncountable
The way people react to you or treat you when you first arrive or speak.
Like the cheering or booing a singer hears when walking on stage.
The new plan got a warm reception from the staff.
Her speech met with a cool reception from the crowd.
Similarresponse, reaction, welcome
Note
4
noununcountable
How well a device can pick up radio, phone, or TV signals.
Like how clearly you can hear a friend calling from far away.
The reception on my phone is bad down in the basement.
We get good reception near the window.
Similarsignal
Note
5
nouncountable or uncountable
The act of getting or taking in something that is given or sent.
Like opening the door to take in a package someone delivers.
The reception of the package was confirmed by email.
Upon reception of the funds, the team began the work.
Similarreceipt, acceptance
Note
6
nouncountable or uncountable
In football, the act of catching a pass thrown by a teammate.
Like catching a ball a friend throws to you in a game.
He made a great reception in the final quarter.
The reception set up the winning score.
Similarcatch, completion
Note
7
nounUKcountable or uncountable
In British schools, the first class children join, just before Year 1.
Like the first step on a long staircase of school years.
My daughter starts reception in September.
The children in reception learn mostly through play.
Note
8
nouncountable or uncountable
When a country takes laws or legal ideas from another culture and uses them.
Like borrowing a good idea from a neighbor and using it at home.
The reception of Roman law shaped many European systems.
Japan's reception of Western legal ideas changed its courts.
Similaradoption, transplantation, borrowing
Note
9
nouncountable or uncountable
How a person takes in and makes sense of a message, step by step, by reading, listening, or watching.
For deaf students, reception of a lesson in sign language takes careful watching.
Reception of a story depends a lot on the reader's background.
Similarcomprehension, interpretation
Oppositeproduction
Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of reception apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

It came through Middle English and Middle French from Latin, from a word meaning "the act of receiving."