receivable

Imagine you have done some work, sent a bill, and now you are waiting to be paid. The money that is still owed to you can be called a "receivable." It is money you expect to get later, not money you already have. This word is used most often in business and accounting. You may see "accounts receivable" on a company's balance sheet, meaning the money its customers still need to pay.

For example, if you run a bakery and deliver a custom cake today, but the customer will pay next week, that payment is a receivable until the cash arrives. More generally, the word can also mean "able to be received," but that use is much less common in everyday English.

"Receivable" usually refers to money that is owed to a person or business and is expected to be paid later. It is common in accounting and finance, where it describes an asset: money that should come in because goods were delivered, work was completed, or a service was provided. When a company sells something now and lets the customer pay later, that unpaid amount becomes a receivable.

The most common phrase is "accounts receivable." This means the money customers owe a business for normal sales made on credit. You may also see similar phrases like "notes receivable," which are amounts backed by a more formal written promise to pay. In this sense, the word often appears as a noun, especially in business writing, and very often in the plural: "receivables."

There is also a broader adjective use. In that use, "receivable" means "able to be received" or "fit to be accepted." That meaning appears less often and is more formal. Most learners, though, will meet the word in the business sense first.

Think of it as money that is on its way to you, at least in theory. If you are a freelance designer and send an invoice after finishing a project, that unpaid invoice is part of what is receivable until the client pays. So the word usually points to value already earned but not yet collected.