greeting

noun

greet·​ing ˈgrē-tiŋ 

1

: a salutation at meeting

2

: an expression of good wishes : regards

—usually used in plural

holiday greetings

Synonyms of greeting

• salutation
• salute
• welcome

Examples of greeting in a Sentence

He addressed the members of the delegation with a formal greeting.

the volunteer directed the conference participants towards the coffee after offering them a cheerful greeting

Recent Examples on the Web

From a potential scare at the Indianapolis Zoo on Friday morning due to a chimpanzee escaping its enclosure to a pet parent receiving an unexpected greeting from her cat, animals have kept people on their toes this week. —Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Nov. 2025

This four-tone greeting is not a specific communication per-se, but the nucleotides of guanine, uracil, adenine, and cytosine, which represent the building blocks of RNA. —Jeff Spry, Space.com, 14 Nov. 2025

The crown prince’s day at the White House next Tuesday will begin with an arrival ceremony on the sweeping South Lawn and a subsequent greeting on the South Portico, according to a senior White House official. —Seung Min Kim, Fortune, 14 Nov. 2025

Despite ignoring his initial greeting and relying on her cranky anti-neighborly attitude to dissuade further outreach, Nile won’t relent. —Ben Travers, IndieWire, 13 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing greeting

• greeting card
• in greeting

Rhymes for greeting

• beating
• bleating
• cheating
• eating
• fleeting
• heating
• meeting
• seating
• sheeting
• sweeting
• treating
• accreting

Kids Definition

greeting

noun

greet·​ing

1

: salutation

2

: an expression of good wishes : regards

—usually used in plural