blessing

noun

bless·​ing ˈble-siŋ 

1

a

: the act or words of one that blesses

say the blessing over the wine

a priestly blessing

b

: approval, encouragement

asked her parents for their blessing before he proposed

2

: a thing conducive to happiness or welfare

My daughter is a blessing to me in my old age.

Their absence turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Count your blessings.

3

: grace (see grace entry 1 sense 4) said at a meal

said the blessing before dinner

Synonyms of blessing

• prayer
• petition
• benediction
• benison
• plea

Examples of blessing in a Sentence

Presumably he was acting with the government's blessing.

They got married without their parents' blessing.

We asked the Lord's blessing on us and on our project.

He said a blessing before the meal.

Recent Examples on the Web

Riffel claimed at the time that Verhoeven had given his blessing to the project. — Katie Rife, IndieWire, 11 Aug. 2026

In a unique adaptation of a traditional ceremony, the bridal party reinterpreted the seven blessings by reciting their own personalized blessing for the couple. — Shelby Wax, Vogue, 10 Aug. 2026

Skoronski, a Park Ridge native and an alumnus of Maine South and Northwestern, called the extension a tremendous blessing. — Teresa M. Walker, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026

Zaidi, who came to power this year with Washington's blessing, vowed to ensure those groups would hand over their weapons, but has faced pushback from some powerful factions. — Mark Osborne, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

see bless

First Known Use

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

Phrases Containing blessing

• mixed blessing
• second blessing

Rhymes for blessing

• dressing
• guessing
• messing
• pressing
• stressing
• accessing
• addressing
• assessing
• caressing
• compressing
• confessing
• depressing

Kids Definition

blessing

noun

bless·​ing

ˈbles-iŋ

1

: the act or words of one that blesses

2

: approval

gave my blessing to the plan

3

: something that makes one happy or content

4

: grace said at a meal