cheerio
Americaninterjection
-
goodbye; goodbye and good luck.
-
(formerly used as a toast to one's drinking companions.)
noun
plural
cheerios-
a goodbye or farewell.
-
Older Use. a toast of “cheerio!”
-
a farewell greeting
-
a drinking toast
noun
Etymology
Origin of cheerio
First recorded in 1905–10; cheero; source of -i- is unclear
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.
"I'm so busy I could scream. 3,000 letters to answer at least. So I'll say cheerio for now."
From BBC • Aug. 14, 2023
Rule Brittania, pip pip, cheerio and all that!
From New York Times • Jul. 10, 2016
Pip-pip and cheerio, it's "The British Academy Film Awards 2015" — a.k.a. the BAFTAs — where Wes Anderson's "The Grand Budapest Hotel" leads the field with 11 nominations.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2015
I told them I had always thought of this funny term for umbrella as one of those words, like cheerio and old man, that the stage Englishman is required to say.
From Slate • Nov. 4, 2011
"Hello, old thing, cheerio and all the rest of it," Huntsman whinnied lovingly.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, October 24, 1917 by Various
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.
