| English Dictionary |
WELCOME
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does welcome mean?
• WELCOME (noun)
The noun WELCOME has 2 senses:
1. the state of being welcome
2. a greeting or reception
Familiarity information: WELCOME used as a noun is rare.
• WELCOME (adjective)
The adjective WELCOME has 1 sense:
1. giving pleasure or satisfaction or received with pleasure or freely granted
Familiarity information: WELCOME used as an adjective is very rare.
• WELCOME (verb)
The verb WELCOME has 3 senses:
1. accept gladly
2. bid welcome to; greet upon arrival
3. receive someone, as into one's house
Familiarity information: WELCOME used as a verb is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
The state of being welcome
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Context example:
don't outstay your welcome
Hypernyms ("welcome" is a kind of...):
acceptance (the state of being acceptable and accepted)
Derivation:
welcome (receive someone, as into one's house)
welcome (giving pleasure or satisfaction or received with pleasure or freely granted)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A greeting or reception
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Context example:
the proposal got a warm welcome
Hypernyms ("welcome" is a kind of...):
greeting; salutation ((usually plural) an acknowledgment or expression of good will (especially on meeting))
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "welcome"):
cordial reception; hospitality (kindness in welcoming guests or strangers)
inhospitality (unkind and inconsiderate welcome)
glad hand (a warm welcome; may be insincere)
Derivation:
welcome (accept gladly)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Giving pleasure or satisfaction or received with pleasure or freely granted
Context example:
you are welcome to join us
Also:
wanted (desired or wished for or sought)
Antonym:
unwelcome (not welcome; not giving pleasure or received with pleasure)
Derivation:
welcome (the state of being welcome)
| Conjugation: |
... he / she / it welcomes Past simple: welcomed
Past participle: welcomed
-ing form: welcoming
Sense 1
Meaning:
Accept gladly
Classified under:
Verbs of buying, selling, owning
Context example:
I welcome your proposals
Hypernyms (to "welcome" is one way to...):
accept; have; take (receive willingly something given or offered)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Derivation:
welcome (a greeting or reception)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Bid welcome to; greet upon arrival
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Synonyms:
receive; welcome
Hypernyms (to "welcome" is one way to...):
greet; recognise; recognize (express greetings upon meeting someone)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody
Antonym:
say farewell (say good-bye or bid farewell)
Derivation:
welcomer (a person who greets)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Receive someone, as into one's house
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Hypernyms (to "welcome" is one way to...):
invite; receive; take in (express willingness to have in one's home or environs)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Derivation:
welcome (the state of being welcome)
Context examples
When Frank left us, continued he, it was quite uncertain when we might see him again, which makes this day's news doubly welcome.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
How I had welcomed each of them!
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
But when he entered, misery and despair alone welcomed him.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
I approached to take it: a welcome gift it was.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
You’ll dine with us, Lestrade, and then you are welcome to the sofa until it is time for us to start.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Do your worst, and welcome, said the brute, what harm can you do me? and passed on.
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
At sight of Mr. Utterson, he sprang up from his chair and welcomed him with both hands.
(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Then came the welcome cock-crow, and I felt that I was safe.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
Nobody more welcome than yourself, my son.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
The fifteen minutes seemed an hour, but they came to an end at last, and the word 'Recess!' had never seemed so welcome to her before.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
"He who laughs last, laughs best." (Bulgarian proverb)
"Be careful of your enemy once and of your friend a thousand times, for a double crossing friend knows more about what harms you." (Arabic proverb)
"A fortune-teller would never be unhappy." (Corsican proverb)