ciao
Americaninterjection
Explanation
When you greet a friend informally, you can use the word ciao. You might call out, "Ciao!"and wave as your brother steps off the train at the station. While ciao, pronounced "chow," is a casual Italian salutation that can mean both "hello" and "goodbye," most English speakers understand it as well. You can say, "Ciao, Grandma!" when your favorite grandparent comes to visit, or wave goodbye to a departing neighbor and yell, "Ciao!" The word is a shortened version of the formal Italian schiavo, "your obedient servant," or literally, "I am your slave."
Vocabulary lists containing ciao
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.
Share a ciao bella pizza or try a classic fettuccine dish while enjoying a glass of vino in the dim glow of this intimate eatery.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 4, 2023
I’m sad to bid ciao to the enchanting vistas of Sicily; to the characters I’ve found myself wondering about as if I knew them personally; to what has become, for me, appointment television.
From New York Times • Dec. 10, 2022
Binoche was joined by other French A-list actresses and singers including Marion Cotillard and Isabelle Adjani in cutting their hair, with a Farsi rendition of Italian protest song "Bella ciao" behind the video montage.
From Reuters • Oct. 5, 2022
The "Jersey Shore" ensemble said ciao to Twitter before they moved down to Miami for the show's second season.
From Washington Post • May 16, 2010
Each ciao is punctuated with a hearty tambourine hit.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
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.
