salute
noun · verb
Simple meaning
An utterance or gesture expressing greeting or honor towards someone.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
suhlootSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
səˈlut
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
An utterance or gesture expressing greeting or honor towards someone, (now especially) a formal, non-verbal gesture made with the arms or hands in any of various specific positions.
A formal military gesture of respect
A kiss, offered in salutation.
A pyrotechnic device primarily designed to produce a loud bang.
verb
To address, as with expressions of kind wishes and courtesy; to greet; to hail.
ambitransitive
To make a gesture in honor of (someone or something).
To act in thanks, honor, or tribute; to thank or extend gratitude; to praise.
To promote the welfare and safety of; to benefit; to gratify.
irelandinformal
To wave, to acknowledge an acquaintance.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An utterance or gesture expressing greeting or honor towards someone, (now especially) a formal, non-verbal gesture made with the arms or hands in any of various specific positions.
Used this way, salute is a reasonably familiar word with a mildly favourable edge. It carries more force than its gentler alternatives. It sounds natural in ordinary conversation and in expressive writing alike.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Strong
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Nearby words
- present , a specialist term, precise but narrower
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use salute
- “A musical salute to the composer on his birthday.”noun
- “I meet this men every day on my way to work and he salutes me.”verb
- “When the officers show up, the soldiers have to salute.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
The act of greeting.
The position of a soldier in presenting arms.
A formal military gesture of respect.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
An act of honor or courteous recognition.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: utterance or gesture expressing greeting
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.