well-being
Americannoun
Usage
What does well-being mean? The well-being of someone or something is its welfare or overall condition or state of health. A high level of well-being means that the overall condition is healthy and positive.Well-being can also refer to a specific aspect of one’s health, and it is often preceded by words like mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, and the like. Well-being is most often applied to people and communities but it can also be applied to things, especially organizations or institutions, such as a nation, economy, or educational system. It is sometimes spelled without the hyphen (well being) or as one word (wellbeing).Example: I hate to call out sick so close to my deadline, but I’m trying to prioritize my well-being instead of constantly pushing myself.
Etymology
Origin of well-being
First recorded in 1605–15
Compare meaning
How does well-being compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
Depriving yourself of that joy — especially during a time when there’s already less daylight and more gloom — is simply a disservice to your overall well-being.
From Salon
Accommodations don’t work for every profession, especially those involving the well-being of others.
The Health newsletter is your weekly guide to all the news that affects your health and well-being.
This idea should be at the heart of every business decision, Corcoran added, saying that “hiring happy people” is a big step toward ensuring the success of a company—and the well-being of its employees.
From MarketWatch
“I’ve always been passionate about fitness, and working out has been critical for my well-being and feeling safe, feeling confident and feeling good in my body. I wanted to bring that to L.A.,” says Rypinski.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
