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
fare·well
fer-ˈwel 
chiefly Australia and New Zealand
: to bid farewell to
: of or relating to leave-taking : final
a farewell performance
Synonyms of farewell
Relevance
Noun
Adjective
Examples of farewell in a Sentence
Noun
They said their farewells and headed home.
the exchange student and her host family said their tearful farewells, promising to keep in touch
Transitive verb
The retiring teacher was farewelled by the whole school at a special assembly.
Adjective
The band gave a farewell concert.
the singer's farewell tour seemed to last almost as long as her entire career
Recent Examples on the Web
Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
But how farewell their rebellion really go when academic conformity is the key to get into top-notch colleges?
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 7 Sep. 2025
Julio Cesar Valdera Morales, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2025
The conventional wisdom was the Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe against Wisconsin on Saturday would be his final regular-season game, but the redshirt junior was not bidding farewell when asked about his future in Wednesday’s news conference.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 26 Nov. 2025
Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Nov. 2025
The director seems especially fascinated by the early twentieth century’s farewell rituals, suffused with religion and superstition.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for farewell
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Imperative verb
Along with his appearance in Australia for Crown Jewel, those may have been some of the first significant stops outside of the United States for WWE's AJ Styles farewell tour.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
But how farewell their rebellion really go when academic conformity is the key to get into top-notch colleges?
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 7 Sep. 2025
Noun
Reds play-by-play announcer John Sadak reposted Welsh's second post on X, and others wrote their own farewells.
—Julio Cesar Valdera Morales, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2025
The conventional wisdom was the Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe against Wisconsin on Saturday would be his final regular-season game, but the redshirt junior was not bidding farewell when asked about his future in Wednesday’s news conference.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 26 Nov. 2025
Adjective
Pete Townshend also chatted with Colbert for an interview to discuss the Who's farewell tour and sat in with Louis Cato and the Late Show Band.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Nov. 2025
The director seems especially fascinated by the early twentieth century’s farewell rituals, suffused with religion and superstition.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for farewell
Cite this Entry
“Farewell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/farewell. Accessed 30 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
farewell
1 of 3 imperative verb
fare·well
fa(ə)r-ˈwel
fe(ə)r-
: get along well
—used to or by one departing
farewell
2 of 3 noun1
: an expression of good wishes at parting : good-bye
2
: an act of departure
farewell
3 of 3 adjective
fare·well
ˌfa(ə)r-ˌwel,
ˌfe(ə)r-
: of or relating to a time or act of leaving : final
a farewell concert
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