Glossary
Receptionist Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential receptionist terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key receptionist vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in receptionist training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- After-hours service
- A service that answers calls when the office is closed.
- Appointment confirmation
- Reminding clients of scheduled visits.
- Auto-attendant
- An automated phone menu.
- Badge
- An ID that grants building access.
- Call routing
- Directing calls to the right person.
- Confidentiality
- Keeping information private.
- Courier
- A delivery service.
- CRM
- Customer relationship management software.
- Directory
- A list of staff and extensions.
- Front desk
- The reception area.
- Hold
- Pausing a call while you find information.
- Multi-line phone
- A phone system with several lines.
- Screening
- Checking calls before connecting them.
- Visitor log
- A record of who entered the building.
- Voicemail
- Recorded messages.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Receptionist practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Receptionist training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.