- present participle of bless.
blessing
Americannoun
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blessings
plural
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the act or words of a person who blesses.
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a special favor, mercy, or benefit.
the blessings of liberty.
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a favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness.
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the invoking of God's favor upon a person.
The son was denied his father's blessing.
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praise; devotion; worship, especially grace said before a meal.
The children took turns reciting the blessing.
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approval or good wishes.
The proposed law had the blessing of the governor.
noun
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the act of invoking divine protection or aid
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the words or ceremony used for this
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a short prayer of thanksgiving before or after a meal; grace
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Also called: brachah, brocho. Judaism
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a short prayer prescribed for a specific occasion and beginning "Blessed art thou, O Lord…"
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a section of the liturgy including a similar formula
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approval; good wishes
her father gave his blessing to the marriage
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the bestowal of a divine gift or favour
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a happy event or state of affairs
a blessing in disguise
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of blessing
First recorded before 900; Middle English blessinge, blessunge, Old English bletsung, bledsung; equivalent to bless + -ing 1
Explanation
A blessing is a prayer asking for divine protection, or a little gift from the heavens. It's also any act of approving, like when your roommate wants to move out and you give her your blessings. Blessings have to do with approval. The first meaning is asking for divine protection or favor. Priests and ministers say blessings in church, and some families say a blessing before dinner. Outside a religious context, blessings are less formal. "I give you my blessing" simply means "It's OK with me." People give their blessings to ideas and actions when they agree with them. Giving a blessing is often the same as giving permission.
Vocabulary lists containing blessing
Passover Vocabulary
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myPerspectives 10.4
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All Saints' Day
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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:
Your $3 million windfall is a luxury, a blessing and, only if you let it, a curse.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
Being about music, arts and highlighting people, that’s a blessing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
“This settlement is not a vote of support for this merger. It is not a blessing of the broader merger,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said when he announced the settlement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
"It was a blessing and an honour to be Amara's mother."
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Throughout the story of his life he is sometimes man’s blessing, sometimes his ruin.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
"I always count my blessings more than I count my money. I don't work for money, never did."
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
Music has given me so much that this album is my way of repaying music for all the blessings it’s given me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
"It stays with me always how things could have been. Every day I still count my blessings."
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
“It was just compounding blessings on top of each other — or luck.”
From MarketWatch ● May 15, 2026
You could see it afterward, when he recited the blessings over the challah, and over the wine, and everyone shouted “L’chayim!”
From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt
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.
