salute
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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Military. to pay respect to or honor by some formal act, as by raising the right hand to the side of the headgear, presenting arms, firing cannon, dipping colors, etc.
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to address with expressions of goodwill, respect, etc.; greet.
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to make a bow or other gesture to, as in greeting, farewell, or respect.
verb (used without object)
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Military. to give a salute.
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to perform a salutation.
noun
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Military.
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the special act of respect paid in saluting.
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the position of the hand or rifle in saluting.
at the salute.
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an act of saluting; salutation.
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a gold coin, bearing the image of the Virgin Mary receiving Gabriel's salutation, issued by Charles VI of France and by Henry V and Henry VI of England.
interjection
verb
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(tr) to address or welcome with friendly words or gestures of respect, such as bowing or lifting the hat; greet
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(tr) to acknowledge with praise or honour
we salute your gallantry
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military to pay or receive formal respect, as by presenting arms or raising the right arm
noun
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the act of saluting
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a formal military gesture of respect
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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salutesimple
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salutessimple
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have salutedperfect
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has salutedperfect
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am salutingprogressive
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are salutingprogressive
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is salutingprogressive
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have been salutingperfect progressive
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has been salutingperfect progressive
Past
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salutedsimple
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had salutedperfect
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was salutingprogressive
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were salutingprogressive
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had been salutingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of salute1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English verb saluten, “to greet courteously or respectfully,” from Latin salūtāre “to greet, hail, or salute,” derivative of salūt- (stem of salūs ) “health”; Middle English noun salu (also salue ), from Old French salu, salus, saluz, from Latin, salūs
Origin of salute2
Literally, “health”
Explanation
A salute is a sign of respect. A soldier may salute senior officers by raising a hand to his or her head, or you may informally salute a neighbor with a tip of your hat. Salute often has a military context, whether used as a verb or a noun. When gladiators showed up for a day’s work at the Coliseum in Ancient Rome, they had to be prepared to die in battle for the entertainment of the emperor. Beforehand, they would address the emperor with the Latin words “morituri te salutant”, which means “Those of us who are about to die salute you.” Many centuries later, the heavy metal band AC/DC would change those words to a song with a much happier sentiment: “For those about to rock, we salute you.” Rock on.
Vocabulary lists containing salute
When You Reach Me
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Catching Fire
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"The Hunger Games" Vocabulary from Chapter 3
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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:
Angèle’s narrative never catches fire and while Anei is striking as Ada, that section of the film feels slightly patronizing, reducing this immigrant tale to yet another strained salute to perseverance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Military personnel salute those who outrank them, but all military personnel, regardless of rank, salute Medal of Honor recipients.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026
This year’s event included a salute to the armed forces, with the official songs of the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
The King led his guards back to Buckingham Palace where a further salute took place.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
“Good. That’s fine. That’s real fine,” Sergeant Hicks said, stepping back to salute Bull Meecham.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Max Medellin, 12, of Troop 10 from Reseda salutes.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2026
President Lai Ching-te officially welcomed Pena on Friday with military honours, including cannon salutes and red carpet, ahead of a sit-down meeting.
From Barron's ● May 8, 2026
The players snapped salutes at each other after great plays.
From Salon ● Mar. 18, 2026
Yeats; in another he salutes Allen Ginsberg and other Beat poets; in a third he devotes the entirety of the piece to Arthur Rimbaud.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025
He removes his hat and salutes my compliment.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
The headphones he regularly wears were gone, he exchanged jokes with the host about wearing a blazer in the sweltering Jeddah heat, and he saluted supporters as he took his seat on stage.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
The brace was the first of Balogun’s international career and came in his World Cup debut before a crowd of family and friends, a cheering section he saluted from behind the goal line after scoring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026
Cheering crowds waved Chinese flags at a farewell ceremony ahead of the launch, while a band played and the three astronauts saluted on stage.
From Barron's ● May 24, 2026
The team sang and saluted during subsequent matches.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026
Laney giggled and waved as Mark saluted her from the back of the garbage truck.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
Stokes left the Test arena for the final time with his bat and helmet held aloft, saluting a rapturous ovation.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
And so, as these fighters walked stone-faced to the octagon, we bore witness to the revolting spectacle of the troops saluting fighters.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026
“It was just us saluting to do it.”
From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2026
“We’re feeling the AGI here,” host John Coogan said with a smile, before saluting goodbye to Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s newly annointed chief executive of applications.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
Today we have done an hour’s saluting drill because Tjaden failed to salute a major smartly enough.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
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.
