Hello

//hɛˈloʊ// intj, noun, verb, slang

intj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    "Hello!" or an equivalent greeting.

    "They gave each other a quick hello when they met, and went back on their merry ways."

  2. 2
    an expression of greeting wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To greet with "hello". transitive

    "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."

Intj
  1. 1
    A greeting (salutation) said when meeting someone or acknowledging someone’s arrival or presence.

    "Hello, everyone."

  2. 2
    A greeting used when answering the telephone.

    "Hello? How may I help you?"

  3. 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.

    "Hello? Is anyone there?"

  4. 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?"

  5. 5
    An expression of puzzlement or discovery. UK

    "Hello! What’s going on here?"

Synonyms

All synonyms
greetingaccostaddressalohaalrightalright me babber

Example

More examples

"Hello, I have a reservation, my name is Kaori Yoshikawa. Here is the confirmation card."

Etymology

Hello (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. Ultimately from a variant of Old English ēalā, such as hēlā, which was used colloquially at the time similarly to how hey and (in some dialects) hi are used nowadays. Thus, equivalent to a compound of hey and lo. Used when drawing attention to yourself. Possibly influenced by Old Saxon halo!, imperative of halōn (“to call, fetch”), used in hailing a ferryman, akin to Old High German hala, hola!, imperative forms of halōn, holōn (“to fetch”). More at hallo. OED and Merriam-Webster also suggested that it is a variant of holla, a variant of holloo. Further beyond, the origin remains uncertain. OED and Merriam-Webster suggested that it has a connection between hallow (“to shout, to cry out loud”), which came from Old French holloer, which, according to Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch, is from Old Saxon halōn.

Related phrases

Hello Worldgolden hellohello againhello girlhello nursehello therehello yourself, and see how you like itsay hello to my little friend

More for "hello"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.