goodbye
/ɡʊdˈbʌɪ
/(US also goodby)
exclamation
Used to express good wishes when parting or at the end of a conversation.Papa remained stoic for the most part, but sounded rather choked when he wished me goodbye....
- I'll go over for a few hours, have dinner with Mama and Papa, wish them goodbye and all that.
- We go to say goodbye, and instead of a handshake I get not one kiss, but two.
Synonyms
farewell, adieu;
Australian/New Zealand hooray;
South African check you;
French au revoir;
Italian ciao;
German auf Wiedersehen;
Spanish adios;
Japanese sayonara;
Latin vale
informal bye, bye-bye, so long, see you, see you later, catch you later
British informal cheers, cheerio, ta-ta
Northern English informal ta-ra
North American informal later, laters
informal, dated toodle-oo, toodle-pip, pip pip
noun (plural goodbyes; US also goodbys)
An instance of saying ‘goodbye’; a parting: we said our goodbyes and set off...
- Saying what are likely to be final goodbyes is something else again.
- With a sudden jerk the we move forward, a few tears are shed, hands wave final goodbyes in a mad frenzy.
- The couple went to the airport where they said their final heartbreaking goodbyes to each other.
Origin
Late 16th century: contraction of God be with you!, with good substituted on the pattern of phrases such as good morning.