The act of receiving.
reception in U.S. law
• The act or ability to receive radio or similar signals.
• A social engagement, usually to formally welcome someone.
• A reaction; the treatment received on first talking to a person, arriving at a place, etc.
• The desk of a hotel or office where guests are received.
• The school year, or part thereof, between preschool and Year 1, when children are introduced to formal education.
• The conscious adoption or transplantation of legal phenomena from a different culture.
• The act of catching a pass.
• Reading viewed as the active process of receiving a text in any medium (written, spoken, signed, multimodal, nonverbal), consisting of several steps, such as ideation, comprehension, reconstruction, interpretation.
The practical impact of reception
reception appears in U.S. legal practice across multiple practice areas. Knowing what it means — and when it applies — can determine the outcome of motions, filings, and negotiations. For non-lawyers, the value of looking up a precise definition is that legal terms often carry meanings that differ from everyday usage; relying on the common meaning can lead to costly missteps.
reception — procedural details
In practice, reception is invoked when parties, judges, or attorneys need to identify the legal status of an issue, the rights of those involved, or the procedural step required next. The definition shown above is sourced from Wiktionary , which is widely cited in U.S. legal practice. Because U.S. law is jurisdictionally layered — federal, state, and sometimes local — the precise application of the term can vary by court, so check the controlling authority for your specific case.