farewell

imperative verb fare·well \ fer-ˈwel \

|Updated on: 17 Jun 2018

Examples: farewell in a Sentence

Definition of farewell

: get along well —used interjectionally to or by one departing

First Known Use of farewell

14th century

in the meaning defined above

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farewell

noun fare·well \ fer-ˈwel \

Definition of farewell

1 : a wish of well-being at parting : goodbye

said their farewells and headed home

2 a : an act of departure : leave-taking

I will take my farewell of this place tomorrow.

b : a formal occasion honoring a person about to leave or retire

held a great farewell for the retiring senator

See farewell defined for English-language learners

Examples of farewell in a Sentence

They said their farewells and headed home.
the exchange student and her host family said their tearful farewells, promising to keep in touch

Recent Examples of farewell from the Web

But even if Messi and Ronaldo return for a farewell at Qatar 2022, the chances of either having a supporting cast of equal strength is low.

— motez bishara, CNN, "World Cup: Is Russia 2018 the last chance for Messi and Ronaldo?," 13 June 2018
The only story of transition to grate on me in this episode was in the farewell to Shogun World.

— sophie gilbert, The Atlantic, "Westworld: From Cradle to Grave," 28 May 2018
The song had always been, in his mind, a solemn farewell to the golden hour before sunset.

— edwidge danticat, The New Yorker, "Without Inspection," 7 May 2018
Space Cowboy, a simply-sung farewell to a love that’s run its course, is one of Musgraves' finest works to date, and Mother, a brief snippet of a song about missing your mom, sticks with you longer than its minute-and-twenty-seconds runtime.

— maeve mcdermott, USA TODAY, "Kacey Musgraves' 'Golden Hour' may be 2018's best album yet," 29 Mar. 2018
The final tableau, with Lawson back in the healing circle, suggests not just letting go, but also acceptance, a sweet and gentle farewell.

— karen campbell, BostonGlobe.com, "Deborah Abel Dance Company channels grief and acceptance in ‘The Wild Divine’," 18 Mar. 2018
Meditative, potent and even a little self-indulgent, the film is a fitting farewell for an artist who treasured the value of images, moving or not.

— OregonLive.com, "The 10 most anticipated movies in the 41st Portland International Film Festival," 5 Feb. 2018
Party with Nick and Drew at Lachey’s one last time this weekend as a final farewell!

— Cincinnati.com, "Lachey's Bar is closing Sunday," 5 Feb. 2018
Known as the Iron Horse for playing in 2,130 consecutive games over 14 years, Gehrig was diagnosed with ALS in June 1939 and delivered a poignant farewell at Yankee Stadium the next month.

— leonard petrucelli, Scientific American, "New Drugs for Lou Gehrig's Disease Head for Clinical Trials," 23 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'farewell.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of farewell

14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

farewell Synonyms

farewell

verb fare·well \ fer-ˈwel \

Definition of farewell

transitive verb

chiefly Australia and New Zealand

: to bid farewell to

See farewell defined for English-language learners

Examples of farewell in a Sentence

The retiring teacher was farewelled by the whole school at a special assembly.

First Known Use of farewell

1580

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

farewell

adjective fare·well \ ˈfer-ˌwel \

Definition of farewell

: of or relating to leave-taking : final

a farewell performance

See farewell defined for English-language learners

Examples of farewell in a Sentence

The band gave a farewell concert.
the singer's farewell tour seemed to last almost as long as her entire career

Recent Examples of farewell from the Web

The two embraced as Carrick was withdrawn to a standing ovation at Old Trafford with five minutes remaining, and the playmaker thanked his boss in his farewell speech shortly after.

— SI.com, "Mourinho Reveals Why Carrick Won't Be His Number 2 Next Year Despite Backing Star for Assistant Role," 14 May 2018
In the biggest announcement of the day in the state Senate, Sen. Art Linares stunned the crowd during his farewell speech Monday night by saying that his wife, Rep. Caroline Simmons of Stamford, is pregnant.

— christopher keating, courant.com, "Sen. Linares, Rep. Simmons Announce Baby on Senate Floor," 7 May 2018
The Miami Open bids farewell to Key Biscayne Sunday marked the end of an era.

— jordan mcpherson, miamiherald, "Recapping the weekend: Hassan Whiteside, Miami Open, Marlins split series and more | Miami Herald," 2 Apr. 2018
Stratford bids farewell to a successful senior class that includes Daniel Bermingham, Leo Werner, Elias Mata, Jade Velarde, Chris Kalwahali, Juan Rubio, Yean Son and O'Neal Moncayo.

— jack marrion, Houston Chronicle, "Spring Woods stuns Westfield with late goals," 30 Mar. 2018
The tradition whereby a president bids farewell to his audience by invoking the deity is of relatively recent origin, dating back to Presidents Nixon and Reagan.

— jason pontin, WIRED, "The New New Deal," 13 Mar. 2018
As Arie bids farewell to Bekah M., note that Tia sits alone with three untouched meals.

— molly fitzpatrick, Bon Appetit, "All of the Tragically Untouched Food on 'The Bachelor' This Season," 6 Mar. 2018
To say farewell to Salonathon in its current form, the cocurators will host Salonathon & On & On & On, a 14-hour celebration at Beauty Bar featuring workshops, performances, screenings, discussions, and a dance party.

— Chicago Reader, "Salonathon says goodbye—for now," 8 Feb. 2018
And FP’s farewell speech to Tall Boy got me all inspired.

— peggy truong, Cosmopolitan, "We Need to Talk About the Latest Death on Riverdale," 1 Feb. 2018