Definition of "receiver"

A person who receives.

1. (now historical) An official whose job is to receive taxes or other monies; a tax collector, a treasurer.

2. A person who receives something in a general sense; a recipient.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • I, the writer of this paper, have been, for some time, a chosen receiver of Begging Letters.

     1850, Charles Dickens, “The Begging-Letter Writer”, in Household Words

3. A person who accepts stolen goods.  examples

4. A person or company appointed to settle the affairs of an insolvent entity.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • It took the name Midland & South Western Junction in 1884 and reached Cheltenham, with its M.R. connection, in 1891; but poverty continued - a receiver had been appointed in 1884.

     1961 October, “Talking of Trains: Last of the M.S.W.J.R.”, in Trains Illustrated, page 585

5. (American football) An offensive player who catches the ball after it has been passed.  examples

6. (racquet sports) A person who attempts to return the serve.  examples

An item or apparatus that receives.

1. Something which receives some substance or object, in a general sense; a receptacle.  examples

2. (chemistry) A vessel for receiving and holding the products of distillation, or for containing gases.  examples

3. (now chiefly historical) An airtight vessel from which air is pumped in order to form a vacuum.  quotations

   Quotations

   • A man can live in thick air, but perishes in an exhausted receiver.

     1791, James Boswell, Life of Johnson, Oxford, published 2008, page 839

4. (firearms) The part of a firearm containing the action.  examples

5. (now historical) A vessel for receiving the exhaust steam from the high-pressure cylinder before it enters the low-pressure cylinder, in a compound steam engine.

6. Any of several electronic devices that receive electromagnetic waves, or signals transmitted as such.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • The FCC says it decided to attempt standardization of VHF receivers after getting "thousands of complaints" from disgruntled boatmen who found their sets brought in mostly a lot of garble and static.

     1976, Boating (volume 40, numbers 1-2, page 152)

7. The part of a telephone handset contained in the earpiece; (hence) the handset itself; an earpiece.  examples

8. (finance) A swaption which gives its holder the option to enter into a swap in which they pay the floating leg and receive the fixed leg.  examples