hello

American  

[he-loh, huh-, hel-oh] / hɛˈloʊ, hə-, ˈhɛl oʊ /

interjection

1. (used to express a greeting, answer a telephone, or attract attention.)

2. (an exclamation of surprise, wonder, elation, etc.)

3. (used derisively to question the comprehension, intelligence, or common sense of the person being addressed).

   You're gonna go out with him? Hello!

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noun

hellos plural

1. the call “hello” (used as an expression of greeting).

   She gave me a warm hello.

verb (used without object)

helloed, helloing

1. to say “hello”; to cry or shout.

   I helloed, but no one answered.

verb (used with object)

helloed, helloing

1. to say “hello” to (someone).

   We helloed each other as though nothing had happened.

hello British  

/ hə-, ˈhɛləʊ, hɛˈləʊ /

1. an expression of greeting used on meeting a person or at the start of a telephone call

2. a call used to attract attention

3. an expression of surprise

4. an expression used to indicate that the speaker thinks his or her listener is naive or slow to realize something

   Hello? Have you been on Mars for the past two weeks or something?

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noun

1. the act of saying or calling "hello"

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• hellos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hello

First recorded in 1865–70; variant of hallo

Explanation

Hello! Hi! How are you doing? Hello is a salutation or greeting commonly used to begin conversations or telephone calls. Hello has been used as an English greeting since the 19th century. Most agree that it is related to the older French exclamation “Holà” — which means essentially “Ho there!” — like you might say to a horse to tell it to stop. Nowadays it’s still used to get someone’s attention but instead of stopping you’re starting something — usually a chat. Hallo and Hullo are variations of Hello used by British English speakers.

Example Sentences

The couple usually spoke on video calls every few days, sometimes with other crew members joining in to say hello.

From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026

Showrunner Russell T Davies also confirmed he will leave the long-running programme, writing on Instagram that it is "goodbye from me but hello to a big new future for the show".

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

Still, “Time and Water” collapses the notion that we are somehow separate from these ancient, essential formations: an encouraging hello to the future from inside a sobering goodbye.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026

But when people tried, they learned that reaching out with a hello usually yielded a hello in return.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026

“Dr. Tam’s office,” she said, waving hello at Bat as he walked by.

From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold