recipient

recipient — noun

1. a person or organization that someone gives, sends, or awards something to — for

1.nounB2
Definition

a person or organization that someone gives, sends, or awards something to — for example, a letter, a prize, money, or an honorary title

Example

Putri was the first recipient of the new scholarship at the university.

collocation: scholarship recipient

The charity asked each donation recipient to write a short thank-you letter.

collocation: donation recipient

Common collocations
  • scholarship recipient
  • grant recipient
  • award recipient
  • benefit recipient
  • donation recipient
  • first recipient
  • sole recipient
  • intended recipient
  • original recipient
  • the lucky recipient
Synonyms
  • receiver

    more general and less formal; used for phone calls, radio signals, or sports (e.g., a football receiver)

  • beneficiary

    specifically for financial or legal advantages, such as life insurance, a will, or a trust fund

  • donee

    very formal; narrowly refers to someone who receives a gift or donation

Antonyms
  • donor

    a person or organization that gives something, especially money or goods for charity

  • sender

    a person who sends a letter, package, or message

  • giver

    a general informal term for someone who gives a gift or present

Usage Note

More formal than 'receiver.' Common in official or written contexts such as awards, grants, charity, and legal documents. Often takes a preceding noun modifier (e.g., scholarship recipient, grant recipient, benefit recipient, award recipient).

Common Mistakes

She was the receiver of the scholarship.
She was the recipient of the scholarship.
'receiver' is used for phone calls, radio signals, or sports (e.g., a football receiver); 'recipient' is the standard word for awards, grants, and formal transfers.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Recipient is the standard word for someone who receives something in formal or official contexts such as awards, grants, scholarships, and charity. Receiver is broader and less formal: it can refer to a person who answers a phone call, catches a football pass, or picks up a radio signal — but it sounds odd for prizes and honours. Beneficiary is used when the thing received gives a financial or legal advantage, such as money from a life insurance policy or property under a will. Donee is very formal and almost always appears in legal or tax documents about gifts and donations. In everyday writing, recipient is the safest choice: 'the award recipient' sounds natural, whereas 'the award receiver' and 'the award donee' both sound wrong.

recipient ↗receiver ↗beneficiary ↗donee

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • the first recipient
  • the sole recipient
  • the intended recipient
  • the lucky recipient
  • the original recipient

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Recipient entered English in the 1500s from French, which borrowed it from the Latin word 'recipiens' — the present participle of 'recipere', meaning 'to receive'. The Latin root breaks into 're-' (back, again) and 'capere' (to take, to seize), so the core idea is 'taking back' or 'receiving'. It was originally a legal term in English before broadening to general use.