TL;DR
A GFCI receptacle is a wall outlet with built-in ground-fault electronics that cuts power in milliseconds when it senses current leaking to ground, plus line and load terminals that let one device protect ordinary outlets wired downstream. The NEC requires it within 6 feet of sinks and in bathrooms, garages, and exterior locations, and weather-resistant versions are marked WR for outdoor boxes.
What it means
A GFCI receptacle is a wall outlet with built-in ground-fault electronics that cuts power in milliseconds when it senses current leaking to ground, plus line and load terminals that let one device protect ordinary outlets wired downstream. The NEC requires it within 6 feet of sinks and in bathrooms, garages, and exterior locations, and weather-resistant versions are marked WR for outdoor boxes. The face carries test and reset buttons; a unit that will not reset after testing has reached end of life and needs replacement.
Where it sits in the glossary
GFCI receptacle is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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