- the act of receiving or state of being received
- the manner in which something, such as a guest or a new idea, is received: a cold reception
- a formal party for guests, such as one after a wedding
- an area in an office, hotel, etc, where visitors or guests are received and appointments or reservations are dealt with
- short for reception room
- the quality or fidelity of a received radio or television broadcast: the reception was poor
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
re•cep•tion /rɪˈsɛpʃən/USA pronunciation
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- [countable] the act of receiving or the state of being received.
- a manner of being received:[countable]The book met with a favorable reception.
- a function, party, or occasion when persons are formally received:[countable]a wedding reception.
- Radio and Television the measure of the quality obtained in receiving radio or television broadcasts:[uncountable]poor TV reception.
re•cep•tion
(ri sep′shən),USA pronunciation n.
- the act of receiving or the state of being received.
- a manner of being received:The book met with a favorable reception.
- a function or occasion when persons are formally received:a wedding reception.
- Radio and Televisionthe quality or fidelity attained in receiving radio or television broadcasts under given circumstances.
- Latin receptiōn- (stem of receptiō), equivalent. to recept(us) (past participle of recipere to receive) + -iōn- -ion
- Middle English recepcion 1350–1400
- 2. response, reaction, treatment.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
reception /rɪˈsɛpʃən/ n
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'Reception' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
acceptance
- acclamation
- area
- audio
- chamber
- court
- drawing room
- evening
- ferrite-rod aerial
- foyer
- frost
- frosty
- intercommunion
- interference
- jam
- levee
- Lodge
- mercerize
- minidish
- ordination
- ovation
- parlour
- radar
- reception centre
- reception room
- red carpet
- skip distance
- static
- television
- terminal
- terrain
- TVRO
- video
- wedding cake
- welcome
- wipe out
- absorption
- acoustic phonetics
- almshouse
- antenna array
- at-home
- auditory phonetics
- bienvenue
- blanketing
- blind spot
- brand name
- cable-ready
- cash bar
- CATV
- ceremonious
