hey

American  

[hey] / heɪ /

interjection

1. (used as an exclamation to call attention or to express pleasure, surprise, bewilderment, etc.)

2. Informal. hello: used as a greeting.

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hey British  

/ heɪ /

interjection

1. an expression indicating surprise, dismay, discovery, etc, or calling for another's attention

2. an exclamation used for emphasis at the end of a statement, or alone to seek repetition or confirmation of another person's statement

3. an exclamation used by conjurors to herald the climax of a trick

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Etymology

Origin of hey

1150–1200; Middle English hei

Example Sentences

“So, I don’t blame CBS for trying to tell Colbert like, ‘Hey, back off.’”

From Los Angeles Times

We were in a press area in a ballroom, sort of backstage-ish to do the interviews that we did, but even there — I always get such a kick out of the fact that publicists are coming by with all this talent — other outlets will do much shorter interviews than we do — and kind of like, “Hey, do you want to talk to so-and-so?”

From Los Angeles Times

“She wasn’t working or getting enough jobs, and so she had suggested at one point, hey, could you help me settle these debts?,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal

But, hey, we’re in Lubitschland, where such cares are immaterial.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Now, if you go into the conversation, you see someone from finance show up. You see someone from legal show up in addition to the business unit, which tells you ‘Hey, we’re taking this much more seriously.’”

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• cry
• exclamation
• expletive
• insertion
• interpolation
• interposition
• shout