/ɹəˈsiv/
Say it backReceive means to be given or presented with something, or to obtain something in return. It also carries sense of welcoming or accepting something into a group or place. In everyday use, it often appears in contexts like receiving information, mail, or a guest, and can imply active reception or passive acceptance depending on the verb’s usage. (2-4 sentences, ~60 words)
"She will receive the award at the ceremony next week."
"We finally received the letters from our exchange program."
"The package was waiting when I arrived, and I signed to receive it."
Pronounce it as ri-CEIVE with the second syllable stressed: /rɪˈsiːv/. Start with a short, relaxed /r/ and a light schwa into a strong /ɪ/ then glide to a long /iː/ before the /v/. The emphasis lands on the second syllable. See: /rɪˈsiːv/. If you want an audio reference, check Cambridge or Oxford dictionaries’ audio demo.
Two common mistakes: (1) Over-shortening the second syllable so it sounds like ri-SEE-v or ri-SEEV; (2) misplacing the stress, saying RE-ceive or re-CEIVE but with reduced vowel length. Correction: keep /siː/ long and make the second syllable the primary stressed beat: /rɪˈsiːv/. Ensure your final /v/ is voiced clearly and not devoiced.
In US/UK/AU, the core /ɪˈsiːv/ remains, with stress on the second syllable. US speakers often preserve a clear /ɪ/ before /ˈsiːv/ and might have a slightly reduced vowel in casual speech; UK tends to maintain crisp enunciation with precise /ɪ/ and longer /iː/; AU closely mirrors UK but can show quicker pacing and a slightly relaxed /r/ influence in some speakers due to rhotic differences. Overall, all share rhoticity differences and vowel sharpness.
The difficulty centers on the long /iː/ in the second syllable and the final voiced /v/ after a preceding unstressed syllable, which can invite vowel truncation or a devoiced /v/ in rapid speech. Maintaining the long, tense /iː/ and a clear /v/ requires precise tongue height (high front) and lip rounding. The consonant cluster at the end can also tempt trailing-off if not enunciated.
Receive has no silent letters; the vowel spellings do not reflect pronunciation exactly, with the 'ei' spelling representing a long /iː/ sound rather than the vowel sequence you might expect in other contexts. The difficulty is more about syllable stress and vowel length than any silent letters. Focus on the second syllable’s long /iː/ and the voiced /v/ at the end.
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Receive comes from the Middle English receiven, from Old French recevoir, based on Latin recipere, meaning to take back, regain, or take in. The Latin recipere is composed of re- ‘back’ and capere ‘to take, seize.’ In Old French, recevoir took on the sense of taking or accepting something offered, aligning with social exchange and formal acts of hospitality. By the late medieval period, receive had moved into English with a broader sense of taking possession, accepting gifts, information, or people, as in legal and social contexts. The stress and spelling stabilized in Early Modern English, preserving the silent -i- in many spellings but not in pronunciation. First known use in English traces to the 13th century in legal and administrative texts, evolving to its common modern sense of obtaining or welcoming goods, letters, or guests. The word’s core idea remains: to take something offered or to welcome what comes to you.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "receive" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "receive" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "receive"
-ive sounds
-eve sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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