addressee

An addressee is the person or organization to whom something is addressed. In postal, administrative, and electronic communications, the addressee is the recipient named in the address block or header and is the intended destination of a message or item. In simple terms, the addressee is who the sender hopes will receive and read the communication. The term is often paired with the sender, the source of the message, and may be replaced by synonyms such as recipient or consignee in shipping contexts.

In letters and emails, the addressee’s name and contact details identify who should receive the message; the salutation and tone are typically adjusted to suit the addressee. In linguistics and pragmatics, the addressee is the intended listener or reader of an utterance, which can influence pronoun usage, formality, and the overall style of language. When multiple addressees are involved, the communication may be addressed to a group or audience rather than a single person.

Etymology and usage notes: the word addressee is formed from the verb address plus the suffix -ee, indicating the recipient of an action. The term is common in formal writing, logistics, and discourse analysis, though in casual contexts “recipient” is often used. Related terms include sender (the one who initiates communication), addresser (the speaker or writer), recipient, and consignee.