greeting
Americannoun
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greetings
plural
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the act or words of a person who greets.
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a friendly message from someone who is absent.
a greeting from a friend in another country.
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greetings, an expression of friendly or respectful regard.
Send my greetings to your family.
noun
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the act or an instance of welcoming or saluting on meeting
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(often plural)
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an expression of friendly salutation
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( as modifier )
a greetings card
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of greeting
before 900; Middle English, Old English gretinge. See greet 1, -ing 1
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:
Taylor-Joy, who splits time between London and Los Angeles with her American musician husband, Malcolm McRae, talked about overcoming insomnia, greeting gorillas and meditating.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Mechanic remembered a party sometime pre-presidency for Witkoff’s wife, Lauren, where Trump was beamed in via video with a birthday greeting, but he couldn’t place when that was.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
Fanara posted himself at the door, greeting guests.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Trump stood to attention as the "Star Spangled Banner" played and even attempted a greeting in Turkish -- before Turkish fighter jets streaked overhead trailing red, white and blue smoke.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
It was an old habit, our standard greeting.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
During a question-and-answer session with Putin, Cook stood up to praise the city and pass along greetings from President Trump.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Over the following year, the two continued to exchange greetings, ideas and invitations.
From Salon ● May 19, 2026
The two came up with a bold redesign — bright colors to attract motorists and greetings in four languages to honor the surrounding Navajo, Zuni, Acoma and Laguna communities.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
In the mornings, Christine eagerly awaits the brightly colored, highly vocal birds swooping into their garden, whooping their greetings before flying off into the junglelike foliage.
From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026
Although the recipients may not know any languages of the Earth, we included greetings in sixty human tongues, as well as the hellos of the humpback whales.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
