greeting

[gree-ting]

noun

1. the act or words of a person who greets. greet.

2. a friendly message from someone who is absent.

   a greeting from a friend in another country.

3. greetings, an expression of friendly or respectful regard.

   Send my greetings to your family.

greeting

/ ˈɡriːtɪŋ /

noun

1. the act or an instance of welcoming or saluting on meeting

2. (often plural)

   1. an expression of friendly salutation

   2. ( as modifier )

      a greetings card

Other Word Forms

• greetingless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of greeting¹

before 900; Middle English, Old English gretinge. See greet ¹, -ing ¹

Example Sentences

A few neighbors and cousins emerged from similarly destroyed ruins, exchanging greetings that sounded both joyous and fragile.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

My son and my husband each murmur happy greetings in response, assuming I was talking to them—and Thomas, ever the diplomat, says nothing to correct the record.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

There is nothing quite like it: At times I felt as though I were greeting a gigantic, seemingly friendly-ish alien creature that I’d never imagined but was now embracing me from all sides.

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While at a San Antonio, cafe last month, baristas were greeting customers while keeping up with a busy drive-through, he said.

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"On the facts peculiar to this case, I found that the dismissal was unfair, which does not mean that I approve the use of the greeting in question or the use of mock accents."

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Related Words

• hello 
• nod 
• ovation 
• reception 
• salute