receiver

American  

[ri-see-ver] / rɪˈsi vər /

noun

• receivers
  plural

1. a person or thing that receives.

2. a device or apparatus that receives electrical signals, waves, or the like, and renders them perceptible to the senses, as the part of a telephone held to the ear, a radio receiving set, or a television receiving set.

3. Law. a person appointed by a court to manage the affairs of a bankrupt business or person or to care for property in litigation.

4. Commerce. a person appointed to receive money due.

5. a person who knowingly receives stolen goods for an illegal purpose; a dealer in stolen merchandise.

6. a device or apparatus for receiving or holding something; receptacle; container.

7. (in a firearm) the basic metal unit housing the action and to which the barrel and other components are attached.

8. Chemistry. a vessel for collecting and containing a distillate.

9. Football. a player on the offensive team who catches, is eligible to catch, or is noted for the ability to catch a forward pass.

   Jones was the receiver of the first pass thrown. He sent all his receivers downfield.

10. Baseball. the catcher.

---

receiver British  

/ rɪˈsiːvə /

noun

1. a person who receives something; recipient

2. a person appointed by a court to manage property pending the outcome of litigation, during the infancy of the owner, or after the owner(s) has been declared bankrupt or of unsound mind

3. a person who receives stolen goods knowing that they have been stolen

4. the equipment in a telephone, radio, or television that receives incoming electrical signals or modulated radio waves and converts them into the original audio or video signals

5. the part of a telephone containing the earpiece and mouthpiece that is held by the telephone user

6. the equipment in a radar system, radio telescope, etc, that converts incoming radio signals into a useful form, usually displayed on the screen of a cathode-ray oscilloscope

7. an obsolete word for receptacle

8. chem a vessel in which the distillate is collected during distillation

9. sport a player whose function is to receive the ball, esp a footballer who catches long passes

10. the metallic frame situated behind the breech of a gun to guide the round into the chamber

---

receiver Scientific  

/ rĭ-sē′vər /

1. A device, as in a radio or telephone, that converts incoming radio, microwave, or electrical signals to a form, such as sound or light, that can be perceived by humans.

2. Compare transmitter

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prereceiver
  noun
• underreceiver
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• receivers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of receiver

1300–50; 1875–80 receiver for def. 2; receive + -er ¹; replacing Middle English recevour < Anglo-French receivour, recevour (< Old French recevere )

Explanation

What do football, radio, and email have in common? They all involve a receiver! A receiver is a position in American football, a part of a radio that translates the signal, or the person who gets the email you sent. If you collect or accept something, you're a receiver. When an object is a receiver, it's either the part of a telephone that you listen to or the component of a stereo system, radio, or television that receives audio or video signals. Another kind of receiver is the North American football player who takes a position toward the edge of the field and who specializes in passing and catching the ball.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

receiver receivers

During the second series, Bennett threw arguably his best pass of the game — a deep shot that landed just out of receiver Tyler Scott’s reach.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

Jefferson threw a lateral to senior wide receiver Gavin Lorge, who threw it back to Jefferson.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Thompson ran the 40 in a blistering 4.26 seconds, tying him for the fastest at the 2026 combine and the third-fastest time by a wide receiver at the combine since 2003.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

“If you were gonna build a receiver on a Madden game, he’d be the guy.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

They stepped inside the glass booth, picked up the receiver of the disconnected old phone, and began to talk to their missing loved ones.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

In the seventh grade, he started working with a personal receivers coach, David Robinson of D-Rob Sports & Fitness Training.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

Quarterback Kate Meier, who was pretty good last season, is even better this season, and so are her receivers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

He added the receivers, in particular, are playing with confidence because of their detailed route work — precise depths, footwork, releases that are “NFL routes” as opposed to “seven-on-seven stuff.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

Pagers are small battery operated radio receivers - popular in the 1980s and 1990s - that can receive short text messages, numbers to call, or alerts.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Half the house, thinks Marie-Laure, is taken up by wireless receivers and the parts that go into them.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr