reception (American football)

In American football and Canadian football, a reception is part of a play in which a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage is received (caught) by a player in bounds, who, after the catch, proceeds to either score a touchdown or be downed. Yards gained from the receiving play are credited to the player as receiving yards. If such a pass is not caught by the receiver, it is called an incomplete pass or simply an incompletion.