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

Coalition members say those protections are a blessing in disguise. —Elaine Rojas-Castillo, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026

Daniel Radcliffe, the original Harry Potter in the movies, has given his blessing to the series and wished McLaughlin well in taking over the role. —Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 24 Mar. 2026

By the time fall approached, Kise and Bhirud, with Blanche’s blessing, were negotiating Ver’s extraordinary deal line by line. —Avi Asher-Schapiro, ProPublica, 24 Mar. 2026

Democrats so far have not given their blessing. —Justin Papp, CNBC, 24 Mar. 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