French word

récepteur

Pronunciation

IPA/ʁesɛptœʁ/

Meaning

  • masculine nounhandset

Example

Pose le récepteur sur la table, s'il te plaît.

Put the handset on the table, please.

Illustration for récepteur (handset)

More examples

Il tenait le récepteur d'une main pendant qu'il écrivait.

He held the receiver in one hand while he wrote.

Core concept

The handheld telephone part that carries one person's voice to another person's ear and back.

Common phrases

  • tenir le récepteur

    hold the receiver

  • poser le récepteur sur son socle

    put the receiver on its cradle

Similar words

combiné: The telephone device held in the hand and against the ear during a call.
téléphone: A communication device for exchanging speech with people at a distance.
écouteur: A small device held to the ear for hearing voices or other sounds.
haut-parleur: A device that amplifies sound so it can be heard by people nearby.

Definition in French

Élément d'un téléphone que l'on tient à l'oreille pour écouter la voix de l'autre personne et parler.

Word origin

The French noun récepteur is formed from the receiving sense of Latin recipere through receptor, meaning a receiver.

Usage tips

  • In everyday French, combiné is more common than récepteur for a telephone handset, while récepteur sounds formal or technical.

Other meanings

  • receivernoun
  • receptornoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word