- present participle of bless.
blessing
Americannoun
-
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:
"The grim physical state he found himself in has now ended, a blessing. Our blessing was that we had Tim Curry in our lives. RIP, my friend," he wrote.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Financial planning has typically treated a long life as a blessing and an early death as the tragedy to guard against.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
Kalia recently started controlling agents from his Apple Watch, which is proving to be a blessing and a curse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
“I take it as a blessing that I can help the team in any way that I can,” Slaughter said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
He started breathing heavily, and a panicky feeling made him want to stop the blessing immediately.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
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
Mina, who longs for “glamour, and comfort, and money,” dislikes the idea of marriage but concedes that “if these blessings must come via a man, so be it.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
“It was just compounding blessings on top of each other — or luck.”
From MarketWatch ● May 15, 2026
The creatures' power is also deeply embedded in people's culture, prompting them to seek the blessings of dozens of spirits before entering the forest.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
While making New Year’s resolutions, we also count our blessings and retell stories about the past year and the lessons we have learned and what we can do to be better this year.
From "Betty Before X" by Ilyasah Shabazz and Renée Watson
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.
