farewell address
Americannoun
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(initial capital letters) a statement that President George Washington published in a Philadelphia newspaper in 1796 to announce that he would not run for a third term and to give his views on foreign and domestic policy.
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a speech delivered by someone upon leaving a job, post, etc.
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.
Ronald Reagan said in his 1989 farewell address, “all great change in America begins at the dinner table.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
“What we accomplished was not insignificant,” he added in his farewell address.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 22, 2026
In 1796, its first president, George Washington, announced he wouldn't seek a third term with a farewell address that still resonates today.
From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2026
Outgoing Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., celebrated the fact that Congress got little done during his tenure in a farewell address.
From Salon ● Dec. 12, 2024
In a curiously rambling farewell address, he accused cabinet members of a breach of trust, of ignoring him and of playing into the hands of the African National Congress.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
