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Office & Administration vocabulary · Reception, Visitors & Post

Receptionist

Meaning in office & administration, with examples

/rɪˈsepʃənɪst/nounCore term

In office & administration, receptionist means: A person who works at the main entrance desk of an office, hotel or clinic, greeting visitors, answering the phone and directing people to the right place.

In Turkish: resepsiyonist, danışma görevlisi, karşılama görevlisi

How it is used

Receptionists greet visitors, sign them in, answer and transfer calls, receive deliveries and often manage meeting room bookings. Visitors are told to "ask at reception" or "check in with the receptionist".

Example sentences

  1. Please take a seat in the lobby; the receptionist will call you when Selin is ready.

  2. Our receptionist starts at 8:30, so the phones are covered before the office opens.

Common collocations

  • work as a receptionist
  • ask the receptionist
  • front desk receptionist
  • reception desk
  • front deskThe desk near the entrance of an office, hotel or clinic where visitors are greeted and helped; also the staff who work there.
  • sign inTo write your name, or register electronically, when you arrive at a building, so there is a record of who is on site.
  • visitor badgeA card or sticker that a visitor wears in an office building to show they are allowed to be there; it often also opens certain doors.
  • switchboardThe central phone system of an organisation, or the team that answers the main number and connects callers to the right extension.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Reception, Visitors & Post

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