receive is one of the 1000 most common headwords. reason - receive - recent Pronunciation IPA (key): /rɪsiːv/ Audio (US)(file) Hyphenation: re‧ceive Plain form receive Third-person singular receives Past tense received Past participle received Present participle receiving (transitive) When you receive something, you get something that was sent or given to you. I receive letters in the mail every day. It is better to give than to receive. Related words Received Pronunciation recipient reception receptionist