receptacle

noun

re·​cep·​ta·​cle ri-ˈsep-ti-kəl 

1

: one that receives and contains something : container

2

[New Latin receptaculum, from Latin]

a

: the end of the flower stalk upon which the floral organs are borne

b

: a structure or tissue (as of a fungus or fern) bearing spores or sporangia

3

: a mounted female electrical fitting that contains the live parts of the circuit

Synonyms

• container

Examples of receptacle in a Sentence

She used the box as a receptacle for her jewelry.

place all wrappers in the trash receptacles at the entrances of the theater

Recent Examples on the Web

There was an 87% increase in reports of high-volume mail theft from mail receptacles, with 20,574 reports in 2019 and 38,535 reports in 2022. —Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025

Duluth, Minnesota, has installed effective and unobtrusive signs at each beach entrance next to a garbage receptacle. —John Michael Pierobon, Sun Sentinel, 25 May 2025

The truck was stopped outside William Rogers Middle School in Kings Park around 6:30 a.m. when someone spotted a man inside the truck’s trash receptacle, WABC reported. —Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 29 May 2025

The votes are then treated like all the others, placed one by one on a plate that sits over an urn used to hold ballots and then tipped into the receptacle. —Nbc News, NBC news, 7 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin receptaculum, from receptare to receive, frequentative of recipere to receive

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for receptacle

• sceptical
• skeptical

Kids Definition

receptacle

noun

re·​cep·​ta·​cle ri-ˈsep-ti-kəl 

1

: something used to receive and contain smaller objects : container

2

: the enlarged end of a flower stalk upon which the parts of the flower grow