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:
She said: "I remember them saying to me 'oh hi mum, hope you're OK, are you hungry?' And me saying 'oh yeah, I'm absolutely starving, I haven't eaten in ages. What have you got'?'"
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
He wanted his “famous sister” to say hi to his disbelieving client.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 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
If you ever feel like grabbing a coffee or saying hi, I’d love that.
From Salon ● Jan. 27, 2026
“If you talk to Stephanie again, let her know I say hi and I’m thinking of her.”
From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan
AFP saw pushing and shoving between front-row protesters and officers trying to keep the surging crowd away from Jakarta's central Bundaran HI public square, which is surrounded by businesses and embassies.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
Police detained six activists who had draped Greenpeace protest banners from a monument on Jakarta's central Bundaran HI roundabout on Tuesday morning, before the student marches, according to Jeanny Sirait, a campaigner for the NGO.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
The researchers used an HI spectral stacking method to combine radio signals that would have been too faint to detect individually.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
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
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
“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
H.I. himself took heaps of tickets, but the house was half empty.
From The Story of My Life Recollections and Reflections by Ellen Terry
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
