blessing

1 of 2

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

blessing

2 of 2

present participle of bless

Synonyms of blessing

Noun

• prayer
• petition
• benediction
• benison
• plea

Examples of blessing in a Sentence

Noun

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

Noun

All of that meant Georgia’s absence from the finals may be a blessing for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s Ballon d’Or hopes. — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

The project carries the official blessing of Baker’s sons Jean-Claude Bouillon Baker and Brian Bouillon Baker, along with the Rainbow tribe. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 8 Sep. 2026

With the extended family’s blessing, an exhumation was performed, and a DNA comparison led to the identification of Kleitz. — David Chiu, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2026

In her tragic absence, Selena’s estate gave a rare blessing to Beyoncé for the collaboration. — Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

see bless

First Known Use

Noun

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