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 5) said at a meal

said the blessing before dinner

Synonyms

• 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

Thiel’s blessing gives a startup founder credibility that college just can’t. —Muskaan Arshad, Fortune, 16 Aug. 2025

Set-pieces: a blessing and a curse Barcelona scored 14 goals from corners in La Liga and the Champions League last season. —Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2025

Her life has been filled with adventures, heartache, blessings and love. —Susan Young, People.com, 16 Aug. 2025

The photos were posted after Jessica expressed overwhelming joy and revealed how the unexpected pregnancy has become one of the family's greatest blessings. —Stephanie Giang-Paunon, FOXNews.com, 16 Aug. 2025

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