farewell
interjection
goodbye; may you fare well.
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farewell
1 American
[fair-wel]
/ ˌfɛərˈwɛl /
interjection
noun
farewells
plural
-
an expression of good wishes at parting.
They made their farewells and left.
-
a fond farewell.
-
a party given to a person who is about to embark on a long journey, retire, leave an organization, etc.
adjective
Farewell
2
American
[fair-wel]
/ ˌfɛərˈwɛl /
noun
farewell
British
/ ˌfɛəˈwɛl /
noun
-
a parting salutation
-
an act of departure; leave-taking
-
(modifier) expressing leave-taking
a farewell speech
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of farewell
First recorded in 1325–75, farewell is from the Middle English word farwel. See fare, well 1
Explanation
If you’re saying goodbye to someone you might not see for long time, say farewell, preferably while waving a hankie from the Queen Mary before it sails across the Atlantic. Farewell is a fancy way to say goodbye. A farewell is also an expression of good wishes at a parting. If you’re leaving a job after being there a long time, your co-workers might throw you a farewell party. Farewell is an expression, like "goodbye," but also a noun — if you like to leave without a lot of fuss, you don’t like long farewells. Farewell is a combination of fare and well. Fare comes from the Old English word faran, which means "to journey."
Vocabulary lists containing farewell
The Cricket in Times Square
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"The Three Chicarrones"
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocabulary for July 8–July 14, 2023
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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:
Their two duets—one of anguished farewell, the other of joyful reunion—were beautifully blended.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The drummer and sometimes singer from the Band, a group that backed Bob Dylan for a time and had its own star-studded farewell concert captured on film by Martin Scorsese, had declared bankruptcy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Ozzy, known affectionately - despite the title - as The Prince of Darkness, died on 22 July last year, less than three weeks after the band's farewell Back to the Beginning gig at Villa Park.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
"I am confident that Britain is now stronger and fairer than it was two years ago," Starmer told reporters in his farewell speech outside Downing Street.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
The cop snapped his pad closed, and each officer gave Carla and her mother a salute of farewell.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
"Farewell old friend x," Larry posted on his X account, brushing aside rumours of rivalry between the pair.
From Barron's ● Feb. 15, 2026
Farewell, Doctor: This week, Disney+ ended its three-year partnership with the BBC to stream “Doctor Who.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 31, 2025
Aerosmith announced its decision to step away from live performances after Tyler injured his vocal cords during a September 2023 show on the group’s Peace Out: The Farewell Tour.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2025
The band's Final Farewell Tour runs from 14 June and will end with a performance on the Acoustic Stage at Glastonbury on 27 June.
From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2025
The disarming simplicity of the statement, combined with its quasi-Delphic character, has made the Farewell Address a perennial candidate for historical commentary.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
It is also a time of farewells, when school graduates leave their hometown while many corporate professionals receive assignments in new cities.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
And his lament over the pain of farewells likely will be felt by many of the athletes gathering Sunday for the Olympic closing ceremony at Arena di Verona, a 1st century Roman amphitheater.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 22, 2026
When the participants tried to end a conversation, researchers had the companion either reply with the same manipulative farewells they had observed popular AI companions use or, in the control condition, say goodbye.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
After the dances, the judges delivered their verdicts - and it was Robshaw and Bychkova who won the majority vote, leaving Skinner and Dowden to say their farewells.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2025
Eventually the hour struck and the customers donned their hats and said their farewells.
From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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.
