hello
Use Hello in a sentence
oʊ interjection
1.
(used to express a greeting, answer a telephone, or attract attention.)
2.
(an exclamation of surprise, wonder, elation, etc.)
3.
(used derisively to question the comprehension, intelligence, or common sense of the person being addressed): You're gonna go out with him? Hello!
noun
4.
the call “hello” (used as an expression of greeting): She gave me a warm hello.
verb (used without object)
5.
to say “hello”; to cry or shout: I helloed, but no one answered.
00:10
Hello
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is lollygag. Does it mean:
| to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle. |
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
verb (used with object)
6.
to say “hello” to (someone): We helloed each other as though nothing had happened.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To hello
Collins
World English Dictionary
hello, hallo or hullo (hɛˈləʊ, hə-, ˈhɛləʊ, hɛˈləʊ, hə-, ˈhɛləʊ, hɛˈləʊ, hə-, ˈhɛləʊ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —sentence substitute | |
| 1. | an expression of greeting used on meeting a person or at the start of a telephone call |
| 2. | a call used to attract attention |
| 3. | an expression of surprise |
| 4. | an expression used to indicate that the speaker thinks his or her listener is naive or slow to realize something: Hello? Have you been on Mars for the past two weeks or something? |
| —n , -los | |
| 5. | the act of saying or calling "hello" |
| [C19: see | |
| hallo, hallo or hullo | |
| —sentence substitute | |
| —n | |
| [C19: see | |
| hullo, hallo or hullo | |
| —sentence substitute | |
| —n | |
| [C19: see | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
hello
1883, alt. of hallo (1840), itself an alt. of holla, hollo, a shout to attract attention, first recorded 1588. Perhaps from holla! "stop, cease." Popularity as a greeting coincides with use of the telephone, where it won out over Alexander Graham Bell's suggestion, ahoy. Central telephone exchange operators
were known as hello-girls (1889).
"Hello, formerly an Americanism, is now nearly as common as hullo in Britain (Say who you are; do not just say 'hello' is the warning given in our telephone directories) and the Englishman cannot be expected to give up the right to say hello if he likes it better than his native hullo. [H.W. Fowler, "A Dictionary of Modern English Usage," 1926]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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FOLDOC
Example sentences
Maoris say hello by pressing their noses together in a greeting called hongi.
Say good-bye to the laughter of alienation and hello to a brand of comedy that fosters a feeling of community.
They should say hello before one of them says goodbye.
Hello, thank you for your article, it is truly inspiring.
Nearby Words
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