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receive

/ɹɪˈsiv/
verbnoun

Is RECEIVE a word? Yes: it means to accept or be given something, and it scores 12 points in Scrabble.

NWL Collins ENABLE

Verb 4 meanings

  1. To be given, sent, or paid something.

    “He received many presents for his birthday.”

  2. To take, as something that is offered; to accept.

    “He had the offer of employment, but he would not receive it.”

  3. To take goods knowing them to be stolen.

  4. To act as a host for guests; to give admittance to; to permit to enter, as into one's house, presence, company, etc.

    “to receive a lodger, visitor, ambassador, messenger, etc.”

Noun 1 meaning

  1. An operation in which data is received.

Definitions: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA) via Kaikki/Wiktextract

Where it comes from

Etymology

From Middle English receyven, from Old French receivre, from Latin recipere (“take back, accept, etc.”), from re- (“back”) + capiō (“to take”); see capacious. Compare conceive, deceive, perceive.g. afon, anfon, afangen, underfangen, etc.

Similar and opposite words

Similar
haveacquireacceptattaincopenlistfanggain
Opposite
givelosesellunacquireunget

RECEIVE is an everyday verb with two closely related senses: taking something offered and being given, sent, or paid something. Its seven letters contain three E's, yet rearranging the tiles produces no anagram. The single closest spelling change leads to DECEIVE.

RECEIVE at a glance

  • RECEIVE has seven letters, with three E tiles and one each of R, C, I, and V.
  • The standard Scrabble face value is 12 points before any board premiums.
  • C is worth three points, and V is worth four; each remaining tile is worth one.
  • No anagrams use all seven letters in this letter set.
  • DECEIVE is the only one-letter neighbour; RECEIVE also has 12 rhymes.

What does RECEIVE mean?

To receive something is to be given, sent, or paid it; the word also means accepting what someone offers. That second sense makes “receive an invitation” and “receive a parcel” natural examples: the subject takes possession or accepts what arrives.

In technical writing, RECEIVE can describe data arriving at a device. The definition also includes the less everyday act of taking goods while knowing they are stolen, so context matters more than the spelling alone.

How many Scrabble points does RECEIVE score?

RECEIVE scores 12 points from its letters in Scrabble: C is worth three, V four, and R, E, I, E, and E one each. That total is the face value, not a promise of a 12-point turn; a letter or word premium changes the final score.

The three E tiles are the quiet part of the calculation. They add only three points together, while the lone V supplies four, so placing V on a premium square matters more than stretching for an E.

Is RECEIVE a word with an anagram?

Yes, RECEIVE is a word, but it has no anagrams; DECEIVE is its only one-letter neighbour. That pairing is a precise spelling clue: keep the shared C-E-I-V-E sequence intact when checking a rack or proofreading a draft.

The rhymes range from familiar words such as GIVE, LIVE, and FIVE to longer matches including POSITIVE, EFFECTIVE, and ALTERNATIVE. Twelve words share RECEIVE's -ive ending, but the set mixes lengths and parts of speech, so rhyme does not mean interchangeable meaning.

Rhymes with receive

All rhymes

One letter away

Change one letter, keep the rest
  • DECEIVE13

Questions people ask

Which Scrabble dictionaries accept RECEIVE?
RECEIVE appears in Collins, NWL2023, and ENABLE. These are separate word lists, and the word qualifies under each. It is an everyday verb meaning to accept something or to be given, sent, or paid something.
What is the closest spelling match to RECEIVE?
DECEIVE is RECEIVE's only one-letter neighbour. Both words share the sequence C-E-I-V-E, with just the first letter changing. That shared ending makes DECEIVE a clear spelling comparison, though the two verbs have different meanings.
Can you rearrange RECEIVE into another word?
No. The letters in RECEIVE make no anagram using all seven tiles, even though the word contains three E's. Its letters are R, C, I, V, and three E's; DECEIVE is a close spelling neighbour, not an anagram.

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