hi
interjection
(used as an exclamation of greeting) hello!
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hi
1 American
[hahy]
/ haɪ /
interjection
hi
2
American
[hahy]
/ haɪ /
adjective
HI
3
American
H.I.
4
American
HI
1
British
abbreviation
-
Hawaii (state)
-
Hawaiian Islands
hi
2
British
/ haɪ /
hi
3
British
/ haɪ /
interjection
Etymology
Origin of hi
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English hy, perhaps variant of hei hey
Explanation
Hi is a common greeting, more casual than "hello." When you walk down the street in a small town, it might seem like everyone you pass says "hi." The word hi is a good, nearly all-purpose greeting — it's appropriate in all but the most formal circumstances, so you might want to skip saying, "Hi" to the Queen when you meet her. When you greet someone, you have a lot of words to choose from, including "hey," "hello," "hiya," and "howdy," but hi is probably the most common. The first mention of hi attributes it to a Kansas native American in the 1800s.
Vocabulary lists containing hi
Scrabble: Two-Letter Words
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Spelling Practice 1, Unit 3
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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.
See Examples For:
“When you’re out on a run or a walk or a bike ride, do you say hi to people that pass? If you don’t, I’m not so sure about you,” he joked.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 20, 2026
Ovitz, the former superagent, says he’ll always stop to say hi, but: “We all know: Don’t hang out.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 9, 2026
In an email from 2012, Epstein wrote to a publicist, apparently from the Cannes Film Festival, that he was "sitting next to Brett Ratner", adding: "Brett says hi and he loves you!"
From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2026
“It’s peaceful and everyone is saying hi to each other. We don’t know what’s gonna happen with the election, but we know that we showed up,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 17, 2025
That girl probably wouldn’t even say hi to him in the hallway on Monday, let alone laugh at one of his jokes with her friends around.
From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan
However, at the HI San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf Hostel, you can find a bed in a shared room for less than $30 or a private room for less than $100 on some nights.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 29, 2023
The HI Pigeon Point Lighthouse Hostel in Pescadero, California, for example, features on-site tide pools and private family rooms.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 29, 2023
"We expect the inflation to fall below 3% in the third quarter and the Bank of Korea to consider cutting rates soon thereafter," said Kim Myoung-sil, fixed-income analyst at HI Investment & Securities.
From Reuters ● May 2, 2023
He was a "scholarly, lonesome, handsome man of few words, who remained a bachelor," wrote the Indian bacteriologist HI Jhala.
From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2020
Viserys had told her that the last Targaryen dragons had died no more than a century and a half ago, during the reign of Aegon HI, who was called the Dragonbane.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
The ship appears to have crewed anti-aircraft weapons on its bow and stern, according to H.I.
From Seattle Times ● May 26, 2022
My mind went to “Raising Arizona”: The first 11 minutes of that movie is this amazing narrated montage that tells you everything you know about H.I.
From New York Times ● Nov. 30, 2020
“At first, my work was difficult because many people did not want to believe that Ebola was real,” Sheku Kamara, an H.I. volunteer, said in a statement.
From Washington Times ● May 22, 2018
But when he followed up, in 1987, with two of his most memorable characters in two of his best films -- as the rooster-haired babynapper H.I.
From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2011
The child of either sex in New England is both taller and heavier than the English child of corresponding class and age, as Dr. H.I.
From Fat and Blood An Essay on the Treatment of Certain Forms of Neurasthenia and Hysteria by Mitchell, John K.
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.
