hello
A greeting (salutation) said when meeting someone or acknowledging someone’s arrival or presence.
Example
“Hello, everyone.”
Other meanings
A greeting used when answering the telephone.
“Hello? How may I help you?”
A call for response if it is not clear if anyone is present or listening, or if a telephone conversation may have been disconnected.
“Hello? Is anyone there?”
Example sentences
Word history
From Old English "ēalā".
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “hello” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.