farewell
interjection
goodbye; may you fare well.
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Farewel.
farewell
1 American
[fair-wel]
/ ˌfɛərˈwɛl /
interjection
noun
-
farewells
plural
-
an expression of good wishes at parting.
They made their farewells and left.
-
a fond farewell.
-
a party given to a person who is about to embark on a long journey, retire, leave an organization, etc.
adjective
Farewell
2
American
[fair-wel]
/ ˌfɛərˈwɛl /
noun
farewell
British
/ ˌfɛəˈwɛl /
noun
-
a parting salutation
-
an act of departure; leave-taking
-
(modifier) expressing leave-taking
a farewell speech
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of farewell
First recorded in 1325–75, farewell is from the Middle English word farwel. See fare, well 1
Explanation
If you’re saying goodbye to someone you might not see for long time, say farewell, preferably while waving a hankie from the Queen Mary before it sails across the Atlantic. Farewell is a fancy way to say goodbye. A farewell is also an expression of good wishes at a parting. If you’re leaving a job after being there a long time, your co-workers might throw you a farewell party. Farewell is an expression, like "goodbye," but also a noun — if you like to leave without a lot of fuss, you don’t like long farewells. Farewell is a combination of fare and well. Fare comes from the Old English word faran, which means "to journey."
Vocabulary lists containing farewell
The Cricket in Times Square
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"The Three Chicarrones"
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocabulary for July 8–July 14, 2023
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Tens of thousands of people defied social distancing rules to bid farewell to him as he lay in state at the presidential palace.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
Could 24 teams mean farewell to the Pop-Tarts Bowl?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
“New Girl” star Jake Johnson is bidding farewell to his Pasadena, Calif., property for $3.3 million.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
The Tulsa concert was a stop on Journey’s Final Frontier farewell tour, which launched in February in Pennsylvania.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Dicey held the grocery bag in one hand, and the other hand she held up in farewell, until she could no longer see the square back of the car.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
"Farewell old friend x," Larry posted on his X account, brushing aside rumours of rivalry between the pair.
From Barron's ● Feb. 15, 2026
Farewell, Doctor: This week, Disney+ ended its three-year partnership with the BBC to stream “Doctor Who.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 31, 2025
Aerosmith announced its decision to step away from live performances after Tyler injured his vocal cords during a September 2023 show on the group’s Peace Out: The Farewell Tour.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2025
The Searchers' Final Farewell Tour will conclude at Glastonbury on 27 June, which the band said will be its "last ever show".
From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2025
Having found it, I could say what you can only say when you’ve truly come to know a place: Farewell.
From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston
It is also a time of farewells, when school graduates leave their hometown while many corporate professionals receive assignments in new cities.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
"Those performances, emotional, soulful, and full of light, were not farewells, but gifts," the post says.
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2026
After hugs and farewells, they walk back out into the night, still unnoticed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2025
When the participants tried to end a conversation, researchers had the companion either reply with the same manipulative farewells they had observed popular AI companions use or, in the control condition, say goodbye.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
Tyrion looked down upon the farewells from the high deck of King Robert’s Hammer, a great war galley of four hundred oars.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
