A receiver is someone or something that gets or accepts what's being sent or given. When you catch a football pass, you're the receiver. When a package arrives at your house, you're the receiver of that delivery.

In sports, especially football, a receiver is a player whose job is to catch passes thrown by the quarterback. Wide receivers run down the field and try to get open so the quarterback can throw them the ball. The best receivers combine speed, coordination, and the ability to concentrate even when defenders are trying to stop them.

The word appears in many contexts. A telephone receiver is the part you hold to your ear. A radio receiver picks up broadcast signals from the air and converts them into sound. In each case, something is being transmitted, and the receiver is what catches or accepts it.

You might also hear about a court-appointed receiver, someone assigned to manage a business or property during a legal dispute. Or in bankruptcy, a receiver takes control of a failing company's assets. These meanings share the same core idea: the receiver is the person or thing on the accepting end of a transfer or transaction.