Recipient: Definition, Usage & Key Examples

Meaning 1：the receiver (recipient)

recipient 🔊

/ɹɪˈsɪp.i.ənt/

the person who gets or is given something.

Recipient definition illustrated by a person joyfully unwrapping a gift box

the receiver 🔊

➕

/ðə rɪˈsiːvər/

The person who receives, accepts, or is given something.

📁 Category：Social Roles 🔖 Level：Beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'recipere' (to take back, to receive) + '-ent' (agent suffix).

💡 Mnemonic

A RECI-pient patiently waits to RECEIVE something. Break it: RECEIve + Patient = RECIPIENT.

📖 Example

She was the happy recipient of many gifts on Mother's Day. 🔊 She was the happy receiver of many gifts on Mother's Day.

🔗 Collocations

recipient of – The person receiving something specified (an award, funds, information).

intended recipient – The specific person for whom something is meant or sent.

award recipient – A person who has been given an award or honor.

🔄 Synonyms

receiver (n.) – A general term for someone who gets or accepts something.

beneficiary (n.) – Someone who benefits from something, especially a will, trust, or policy.

addressee (n.) – The person to whom a letter, package, or communication is addressed.

🚫 Antonyms

donor (n.) – A person who gives or donates something.

giver (n.) – A person who gives something to someone else.

📖 Cultural Story

Originating in the 1550s from Latin 'recipient-', the present participle of 'recipere', meaning 'one who receives'. It entered English through Middle French and is a core term in legal, administrative, and formal communication contexts for designating the authorized receiver of items or information.