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 Care Bears owners have spent “three years in board meetings for five hours at a time shaking our fists at the sky about how great Hello Kitty is,” Collins said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 30, 2026

In fact, this rager was Hello Kitty–themed—with trippy visuals of the fluffy cat blaring behind the DJs—and was hosted by the Dave & Buster’s in Ontario, California, just over 35 miles outside Los Angeles.

From Slate • Jun. 25, 2026

"Until you actually get the robot actually trying to do the thing you think it can do, you don't really know," said Charlie Kemp of Hello Robot, which sells robots for people with limited mobility.

From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026

Kelvin Washington: Hello, everyone, and welcome to the next episode of The Envelope.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026

“That is to say, hello, to all current and former Swanburne girls, to the faculty, and to the esteemed board of trustees. Hello, hello, hello! Thank you all, so much, for coming here today.”

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood