hello
Forms
- Plural
- hellos
- present (v1)
- hello
- past (v2)
- helloed
- past participle (v3)
- helloed
- present participle
- helloing
- 3rd person singular
- hellos
Definitions
1."Hello!" or an equivalent greeting.
- They gave each other a quick hello when they met, and went back on their merry ways.
- In many new buildings, though, neighbors are venturing beyond tight-lipped hellos at the mailbox.
1.A greeting (salutation) said when meeting someone or acknowledging someone’s arrival or presence.
2.A greeting used when answering the telephone.
- Hello. This is Marsha. ― Yes, Marsha.
- Hello? How may I help you?
3.A call for response if it is not clear if anyone is present or listening, or if a telephone conversation may have been disconnected.
4.Used sarcastically to imply that the person addressed has done something the speaker considers to be foolish, or missed something that should have been obvious.(colloquial)
- You just tried to start your car with your cell phone. Hello?
- Uh, hello? We're using a CANNON to get to the moon? Isn't that, like, dangerous?
1.To greet (someone) with "hello".
- She is there guarding and looking after the candy and the children generally, and she helloes and renders an exclamation that Maidie is crossing the street.
- ‘Hello Minka! Great to meet you!’ Minka seems nonplussed at what I thought was an uncontroversial opening remark. There’s an awkward pause. She then helloes me back. But that’s all I get.
- I had to traipse around somewhat, helloing people and being helloed, before I spotted my mother and my father, sharing shade and a spread blanket with Pete and Marie Reese and Toussaint Rennie near the back of the park.
Frequency
Overall
Common· #1122
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Common
- General reading & writing
- Rare
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Synonyms
Etymology
First attested in 1826. From holla, hollo (attested 1588). This variant of hallo is often credited to Thomas Edison as a coinage for telephone use, but its appearance in print predates the invention of the telephone by several decades.