Receptive sailor shipped around globe (9)
I believe the answer is:
absorbent
'receptive' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'sailor shipped around globe' is the wordplay.
'sailor' becomes 'ab' (abbreviation for able seaman).
'shipped' becomes 'sent' ('send' can be a synonym of 'ship').
'around' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'globe' becomes 'orb' (synonyms).
'sent' placed around 'orb' is 'sorbent'.
'ab'+'sorbent'='ABSORBENT'
(Other definitions for absorbent that I've seen before include "Porous" , "Able to soak up liquid easily" , "Bob ran set (anag.)" , "Able to mop up" , "Sucking up liquid" .)