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• hi
  hi

  interjection

  (used as an exclamation of greeting) hello!
• HI
  HI

  abbreviation

  Hawaii (approved especially for use with zip code).
• H.I.
  H.I.

  abbreviation

  Hawaiian Islands.

hi

¹ American  

[hahy] / haɪ /

interjection

1. (used as an exclamation of greeting) hello!

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hi ² American  

[hahy] / haɪ /

adjective

1. an informal, simplified spelling of high.

   hi fidelity.

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HI ³ American  

abbreviation

1. Hawaii (approved especially for use with zip code).

2. Meteorology. heat index. Also H.I.

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H.I. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. Hawaiian Islands.

2. Meteorology. heat index. Also HI

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HI ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. Hawaii (state)

2. Hawaiian Islands

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hi ² British  

/ haɪ /

1. an informal word for hello

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hi ³ British  

/ haɪ /

interjection

1. an expression used to attract attention

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hi HI H.I.

Just walking down the street in Boston wearing any type of Scotland merchandise will result in people waving, saying hi or shouting "good luck Scotland".

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

“We see them every day and we just say hi and they’re very nice,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2026

“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

“I’ll just go say hi to your mom.”

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

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

"Hawkish rhetoric weakened in his tone of speech," said Kim Myoung-sil, a fixed income analyst at HI Investment Securities.

From Reuters ● Aug. 24, 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

HI say, “Dis b’dat outrageous cay, eh, Timothy?”

From "The Cay" by Theodore Taylor

The ship appears to have crewed anti-aircraft weapons on its bow and stern, according to H.I.

From Seattle Times ● May 26, 2022

“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

If Ray is the hapless Jerry Lundegaard type — or the H.I.

From New York Times ● May 17, 2017

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

A work entitled Three Weeks in the Gold Mines, written by a mendacious individual who signed himself H.I.

From The Forty-Niners A Chronicle of the California Trail and El Dorado by White, Stewart Edward

Related Words

• hello
• nod
• ovation
• reception
• salute