receiver

The word "receiver" describes a person, thing, or device that gets something from another source. What is received may be physical, like a package, or less direct, like information, a signal, or a payment. At its heart, the word points to the one at the receiving end.

When it refers to a person, a receiver is simply someone who gets what is sent, given, or thrown. In sports, for example, a receiver is a player whose job is to catch the ball. In law, the word has a more special meaning: a receiver is a person appointed by a court to take charge of property, money, or a business while a legal problem is being dealt with. This person manages and protects those assets until the court decides what should happen next.

In technical use, a receiver is a device or part of a device that picks up signals or transmissions. A radio receiver takes in radio waves and changes them into sound. A television receiver takes broadcast signals and turns them into picture and sound. In older telephones, the part you hold to your ear is called the receiver because it changes electrical signals into sound. In computing and electronics more generally, the word often refers to the part of a system that accepts incoming data or signals.

The idea can also extend more broadly to communication, where a listener or audience may be thought of as the receiver of a message. Whether it is a person catching a pass, a court-appointed manager handling property, or a device taking in a signal, the central idea stays the same: a receiver is the one that gets what comes from somewhere else.