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reception room

reception room

4 3.2
A room in a house or hotel where visitors wait and the host meets them
  • noun
  • /rɪˈsɛpʃən ruːm/
translation icon : salón
  • If you'll wait in the reception room, Dr. Collins will be in to see you.

Examples

  • In the reception room, a dark-haired teenage girl was staring moodily out the window.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Take a peek at what's in the reception room.

  • We're in the, uh, reception room.

  • Doctor, dress him up a bit and take him to the reception room.

  • I'm in the reception room.

  • In the reception room, we continued to soak up kind words of welcome.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • There was only a number on the door, and although the reception room was luxuriously appointed, there was no company name visible.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • The reception room holds four chairs and a couch, all upholstered in shades of dark green and blue.

    Academic text (2007)
  • The remodeling had been extensive, and what had once been a modest oceanfront hotel now boasted reception rooms and a wedding gazebo.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • If you'll wait in the reception room, Dr. Collins will be in to see you.

Synonyms

lobby
vsreception room
261 1.3

A large entrance area in a building where people wait

is primarily for meeting and entertaining guests rather than arrival functions
parlor
vsreception room
  • US
186 4.4

A room in a house or inn where people sit to talk and meet guests

is the broader term used in hotels as well as homes
foyer
vsreception room
45 3.9

A large entrance hall in a building like a hotel or theater where people wait

is focused on entertaining guests inside houses or hotels rather than entry
hall
vsreception room
27 1.0

An area by the main door where people meet or wait

is mainly a room for entertaining visitors rather than a passage
sitting room
vsreception room
  • UK
20 1.6

A room in a house where people sit and talk

is specifically for receiving and entertaining rather than everyday sitting
drawing room
vsreception room
  • Archaic
20 4.2

A formal room where guests are received and entertained

is less formal and more general for guest entertaining
vestibule
vsreception room
12 6.0

A small entrance hall next to a building's front door where people wait

is used deeper inside buildings for receiving and entertaining visitors
entrance hall
vsreception room
4 2.8

A large room just inside the main door where people enter and wait

is mainly for hosting and entertaining visitors not only greeting
morning room
vsreception room
  • Archaic
1 7.0

A room in a house facing east that people use for sitting during the day

is used at any time for receiving visitors not only in daylight
presence chamber
vsreception room
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A room in a palace where a king or queen receives guests

is the ordinary house or hotel place for welcoming visitors

How Comfortable

lounge
214 2.3
reception room
4 3.2
hall
314 1.0
waiting room
100 1.3

Surface Forms

Morphology

reception + room

The meaning 'a room where visitors are received and entertained' is directly and compositionally built from 'reception' (the act or event of receiving guests) + 'room' (an indoor space). This noun+noun combination follows common English and cross-linguistic patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Reception room comes from the simple idea of a special place where a host 'receives' guests; reception means greeting and room is the space. So imagine a host welcoming visitors and showing them into a comfortable reception room to wait or talk, and that is why it means 'a room where visitors are received and entertained'.