receiver

/ɹəˈsi.vɚ/

//ɹəˈsi.vɚ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"receiver" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“receiver” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,172. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,172
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who receives.

Corpus desk

Index EN-receiver · receiver · English

receiver · rank #6,172 · 11 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,172
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH prevented

Nearest frequency peer: prevented (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “receiver”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “receiver” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

receiver vs recover
75% similar
receiver vs receives
88% similar
receiver vs recliner
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for receiver
PropertyValue
Headwordreceiver
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹəˈsi.vɚ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#6,172
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “receiver” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).receiverlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “prevented” (#6,171), “recommendation” (#6,173), “potatoes” (#6,170). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around receiver (IPA /ɹəˈsi.vɚ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,172 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for receiver, with forms such as "erceiver", "rceeiver", and "recceiver". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "recover", "receives", "recliner", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English receyvour, from Anglo-Norman receverre, receivour et al., later also reformed as receive + -er. Compare recevor, rescaivour. The correct English form is receiver, spelled R-E-C-E-I-V-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who receives.
  2. 2
    A person who receives.
  3. 3
    A person who receives.
  4. 4
    A person who receives.
  5. 5
    A person who receives.
  6. 6
    A person who receives.
  7. 7
    An item or apparatus that receives.
  8. 8
    An item or apparatus that receives.
  9. 9
    An item or apparatus that receives.
  10. 10
    An item or apparatus that receives.
  11. 11
    An item or apparatus that receives.
  12. 12
    An item or apparatus that receives.
  13. 13
    An item or apparatus that receives.
  14. 14
    An item or apparatus that receives.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how receiver appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I, the writer of this paper, have been, for some time, a chosen receiver of Begging Letters.
  2. 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.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English receyvour, from Anglo-Norman receverre, receivour et al., later also reformed as receive + -er. Compare recevor, rescaivour.

This word in other languages

destinatario(Español)destinataire(Français)Empfänger(Deutsch)receptor(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • erceiver
  • rceeiver
  • recceiver
  • receievr
  • receiverr
  • receivre
  • receivver
  • recevier
  • reciever
  • reeciver
  • rreceiver

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of receiver - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

erceiver2rceeiver2recceiver1receievr2receiverr1receivre2receivver1recevier2
Edit distance from "receiver"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "receiver"?
"receiver" is spelled R-E-C-E-I-V-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹəˈsi.vɚ/.
What does "receiver" mean?
As a noun, "receiver" means: A person who receives.
What words are commonly confused with "receiver"?
"receiver" is commonly confused with "recover", "receives", "recliner". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "receiver"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "receiver" is /ɹəˈsi.vɚ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "receiver"?
Inherited from Middle English receyvour, from Anglo-Norman receverre, receivour et al., later also reformed as receive + -er. Compare recevor, rescaivour. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "receiver", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

potatoes#6,170mentions#6,164teenager#6,191forecast#6,143

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

servant11 variantslighter11 variantsearliest11 variantsdisappear11 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "receiver". Here's where to go from here.

  • "receiver" maps to 5 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "recover". View pair
  • 11 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #6,172 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "R" letter cohort. R–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list