DictionaryAI

hello

he-LOH/hɛˈloʊ/Sayhuh-LOH/həˈləʊ//həˈləʉ/

Noun pluralhellos, helloes

Verbhellos, helloing, helloed

6 meanings of hello

Practice

  1. 1
    hi thereinterjection
    Said as a greeting when meeting someone or acknowledging their presence, or when answering or starting a telephone call.

    Hello, Professor. I wasn't expecting to run into you here.

    Hello there, everyone. Thanks so much for coming out tonight.

    UsageWorks for one person or a whole room: Hello, everyone. Hello there sounds warmer.

    Similarhi, hey, greetings

    Oppositegoodbye, bye, farewell

    Note

    A younger word than it looks: it first appears in print in 1826, as a variant of hallo that goes back to holla and hollo, recorded from 1588.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

  2. 2
    nouncountable
    An utterance of greeting, or the act of greeting someone, when you meet or address them.

    A warm hello from the host put the nervous guests at ease.

    Their cheerful hellos echoed across the crowded hall.

    UsageCommon in say hello to someone, which can also mean pass on greetings. The plural is hellos.

    Similargreeting, welcome, salutation

    Oppositegoodbye, farewell

    Note

    Stephanie Rosenbloom, writing in the New York Times in 2007, describes neighbors venturing beyond "tight-lipped hellos at the mailbox."

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Stephanie Rosenbloom used the quoted wording in The New York Times in 2007; Wiktionary identifies the article as “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” dated April 29, 2007. en.wiktionary.org
  3. 3
    checking contactinterjection
    Called out to check whether anyone is present or listening, or whether a phone call has been cut off.

    Hello? The line went quiet. Can you still hear me?

    She pushed open the dark door and called, "Hello? Is anyone in here?"

    UsageOften written Hello?, either alone or before another question: Hello? Is anyone there?

    Similarhey

    Note

    Here it is a call into silence rather than a greeting. In Joseph C. Lincoln's Mr. Pratt's Patients (1913), characters roar "Ahoy!", "Hi!" and "Hello!" side by side, using the word as a shout to raise someone.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • Joseph C. Lincoln wrote Mr. Pratt's Patients, first published in 1913. archive.org
    • The first-edition title page dates the book to 1913. archive.org
    • The narrator shouts Ahoy and Hello to attract someone's attention. home.hiwaay.net
    • The Colonel joins the same episode by roaring Hi and Hello. home.hiwaay.net
  4. 4
    say hi toverbtransitive
    To address someone with a spoken greeting, saying hello to acknowledge them.

    I like to hello my neighbors whenever I pass their porch.

    She helloed each guest as they arrived at the gallery.

    Similargreet, hail, salute

    Note

    Turning the greeting into a verb gives a full set of forms: helloes or hellos, helloing, helloed. It works transitively (she helloes me back) and in the passive. Ivan Doig's English Creek (1984) has both: "helloing people and being helloed." A construction with to also appears, as in the Ohio State Engineer of 1927: He helloes to my daughter.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Ivan Doig wrote English Creek, first published in 1984. montana.edu
    • English Creek contains the quoted transitive and passive forms. en.wiktionary.org
    • The Ohio State Engineer contains He helloes to my daughter in 1927. en.wiktionary.org
  5. 5
    sarcasticinterjectioncolloquial
    Said sarcastically to suggest that the person addressed has done something foolish or missed something that should have been obvious.

    Hello? Did you even read the instructions before you started?

    You forgot my birthday again; hello, it's the same date every single year.

    UsageOften a drawn-out Hello?, before or after pointing out something obvious; it can sound rude.

    Similarduh

  6. 6
    interjectionUK
    Said to express puzzlement, or to mark the sudden discovery of something newly noticed.

    Hello, what's going on over there by the back gate?

    Hello, that's odd; the cupboard was locked a minute ago.

    UsageOpens a remark about something just noticed: Hello, what's this?

    Similarhmm, huh, hey

    Note

    A mainly British exclamation of noticing. It opens an observation rather than greeting a person, as in Hello! What's going on here?, and is usually followed by whatever caught the speaker's eye. Keep it apart from the sarcastic "hello?", which is aimed at a listener and ends in a question mark. This one is an exclamation of discovery.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of hello apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

First recorded in print in 1826, hello grew out of older calls such as hallo, hollo and holla, whose deeper source is uncertain (an old Germanic shout for hailing a ferryman and French holà are both proposed). The word predates the telephone, but Thomas Edison helped make it the standard phone greeting, recommending it in an 1877 letter.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 8 facts