greet

greet — verb

1. to use friendly words or actions to show you are happy to see someone you know.

1.verbtransitiveA2
Definition

to use friendly words or actions to show you are happy to see someone you know. This verb can also describe how people respond to an event, decision, or piece of news — for example, greeting a change with anger or greeting an announcement with excitement.

Example

Élise greeted each guest at the door with a warm smile and a firm handshake.

greet + with + noun phrase (manner of greeting)

Rohan greeted his grandmother by giving her a long hug at the train station.

greet + by + gerund phrase

Common collocations
  • greet someone with a smile
  • greet someone warmly
  • greet the news with
  • greet the decision with
  • greet each other
Synonyms
  • welcome

    warmer and more personal; often involves inviting someone in rather than just saying hello

  • receive

    more formal and neutral; can mean simply to be there when someone arrives

  • acknowledge

    less warm; means to show you have noticed someone, often with just a nod or brief word

  • hail

    enthusiastic and usually public; often used for calling out to someone from a distance

Antonyms
  • ignore

    deliberately not greet or acknowledge someone

  • snub

    to insult someone by refusing to greet them

Grammar Patterns

greet + noun (person being welcomed)

greet + noun + with + noun (manner or reaction)

greet + noun + by + gerund

Usage Note

Frequently used with 'with' to indicate the manner or emotional tone of the greeting or reaction. Never omit the direct object: 'She greeted' is incomplete — you must say who or what she greeted.

Common Mistakes

I greeted to my friend at the party.
I greeted my friend at the party.
'greet' is transitive and does not take a preposition after it.
The loud music greeted my ears when I walked in.
The loud music greeted me when I walked in.
'greet' takes a person as its object, not a body part.

2. If a view, noise, or odour is what you first notice upon entering a place, that

2.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

If a view, noise, or odour is what you first notice upon entering a place, that thing can be described as greeting you. The word captures the immediate impression a location gives to someone who arrives there.

Example

When Mizuki opened the bakery door, a wonderful smell of fresh bread greeted her.

active: [smell] + greet + person

At the hilltop, Tuan and Isabela were greeted by a stunning view of the lake.

passive: be greeted by + [sight]

Common collocations
  • greeted by a sight
  • greeted by a smell
  • greeted by the sound of
  • greeted by silence
  • greeted by chaos
  • greeted by a view of
Synonyms
  • meet

    more general; 'met by silence' works in the same structure

  • confront

    more negative; suggests something unpleasant or challenging

  • strike

    more sudden; 'the smell struck me as I walked in'

Grammar Patterns

be greeted by + noun (sight/sound/smell)

[sight/sound/smell] + greet + noun (person)

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: here the subject is always a sensory thing (sight, sound, smell) or a condition (silence, mess, chaos), never a person doing the greeting. Most natural in the passive structure 'be greeted by + noun'.

Common Mistakes

I greeted the beautiful garden when I arrived.
I was greeted by the beautiful garden when I arrived.
for this sense, the sensory thing does the greeting; the person is on the receiving end.

Word family

  • greeting
    nounA2
  • greetings
    nounA2
  • greeter
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Greet is the most general verb for saying hello or showing welcome when meeting someone. Welcome is warmer and more personal — it often involves inviting someone in or expressing pleasure at their arrival, like welcoming a friend into your home. Receive is more formal and neutral; you can receive guests at a ceremony without particularly welcoming them. Acknowledge is the least warm — it means showing you have noticed someone, often with just a nod or a brief word, without any real welcome. Hail suggests enthusiastic, public recognition, usually from a distance — for example, hailing a celebrity or a taxi. Wave is a specific physical action that can serve as a greeting without words, such as waving to a neighbour across the street. Use greet when a simple, all-purpose word for showing welcome is needed.

welcome ↗receive ↗acknowledge ↗hail ↗wave ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • greet each other
  • greet one another
  • greet someone at the door
  • greet someone on arrival
  • greet someone with open arms

Prepositions

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Greet comes from Old English 'grētan', meaning 'to approach, salute, or come into contact with'. This traces back to a Proto-Germanic root '*grōtijaną', which also gave rise to Old High German 'gruozen' (modern German 'grüßen' meaning 'to greet'). In Old English, there was a separate verb 'grǣtan' meaning 'to weep or lament', but that sense has long since disappeared from the language. The modern meaning of welcoming or saluting someone has been stable for over a thousand years.