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Synonyms

greet

1 American  
[greet] / grit /

verb (used with object)

  1. to address with some form of salutation; welcome.

    Synonyms:
    accost, hail
  2. to meet or receive.

    to be greeted by cheering crowds; to greet a proposal with boos and hisses.

  3. to manifest itself to.

    Music greeted his ear as he entered the salon.


verb (used without object)

  1. Obsolete. to give salutations on meeting.

greet 2 American  
[greet] / grit /

verb (used without object)

  1. to grieve; lament; cry.


verb (used with object)

  1. to lament; bewail.

greet 1 British  
/ ɡriːt /

verb

  1. to meet or receive with expressions of gladness or welcome

  2. to send a message of friendship to

  3. to receive in a specified manner

    her remarks were greeted by silence

  4. to become apparent to

    the smell of bread greeted him

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

greet 2 British  
/ ɡriːt /

verb

  1. (intr) to weep; lament

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. weeping; lamentation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms


Etymology

Origin of greet1

before 900; Middle English greten, Old English grētan; cognate with German grüssen

Origin of greet2

before 900; Middle English grete, Old English grǣtan; cognate with ON grāta, Gothic gretan


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:

It came as new growth began to greet a blond dye job, around the release of his 2019 album, “Igor,” when he was wearing a high-top cut.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026

Hundreds of thousands of people pour onto the Champs-Élysées to greet the pontiff in Paris.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2026

Piker’s mother arrives—they greet each other in Turkish—and she whips up a charcuterie plate that will be picked at all night long.

From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026

Then his father Marco and mother Veronica, who have been so important in his rise to F1, were there to greet him at the end.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

He held the box over his head, ready to greet his friends, but they were shouting at him and waving their arms.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

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