One syllable: greet.
greet
/ɡɹit/
greet is pronounced greet (/ɡɹit/). It has one syllable (greet), with the stress on "greet". Greet means to address with a friendly or polite message or gesture upon meeting someone. It encompasses the act of saying hello or otherwise welcoming another person, often accompanied by appropriate body language. The term covers casual, formal, and ceremonial salutations and signals social acknowledgment.
Greet means to address with a friendly or polite message or gesture upon meeting someone. It encompasses the act of saying hello or otherwise welcoming another person, often accompanied by appropriate body language. The term covers casual, formal, and ceremonial salutations and signals social acknowledgment.
"When you arrive, greet the host with a smile and a quick, warm hello."
"The receptionist greeted me as I walked in and directed me to the conference room."
"She greeted her old classmates with hearty hugs and memories from school."
Pronounce as /ɡriːt/. The initial g is a hard g, followed by a long e vowel as in ‘reed’, with a steady glide from /g/ into /riː/. Stress is on the single syllable. Mouth: lips relaxed, tongue high for /iː/, jaw slightly open. Audio reference: [native pronunciation in standard accents]
Many speakers mispronounce by using a short /e/ as in bed or by de-voicing the final consonant. Ensure the vowel is long /iː/ and not a lax /ɪ/. Another error is blending too quickly into a trailing vowel; keep the vowel steady and crisp. Tip: hold the /iː/ a touch longer and pronounce the final /t/ with a light aspiration.
In most accents, /ɡriːt/ remains; however, vowel quality varies. US and UK maintain a rhotic-less trailing vowel with a clear /t/. Some US speakers may reduce the /r/ near vowels in fast speech, UK speakers may exhibit a slightly rounded /iː/ and a crisper final /t/. Australian speech often features a flatter vowel and a glottalized or lightly released /t/ in rapid speech, but standard careful speech uses full /t/.
The challenge lies in maintaining the long /iː/ quality in a single syllable while ensuring the final /t/ is released clearly. Some speakers compress the vowel to /i/ or shorten it, causing a near-borderline /ɡrit/ sound. Also, the transition from /g/ to /riː/ requires precise tongue placement: back of the tongue for /g/, front for /iː/. These quick articulations demand precise timing.
A unique query is whether you should aspirate the final /t/ in careful speech. In careful, slow speech you’ll release an audible /t/ with a puff of air; in fast or casual speech, it may become an unreleased or lightly aspirated stop, especially in American or Australian contexts. Maintaining a crisp /t/ ensures the word remains distinct from /griːd/ (greeze) in rapid conversation.
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Greet comes from Old English greetan, meaning to offer hospitality or to praise. The root is related to the German greßen and Dutch begroeten, all tied to the act of greeting or saluting, often with speech or gesture. The term evolved from general acts of welcome to include a formal utterance such as hello or greetings in social interactions. Early uses emphasize the social ritual of acknowledging another person, and by Middle English, greet had taken on broader connotations of speech and return civility. Over time, greet narrowed to the verb form most common today: to address someone in a friendly or polite manner on meeting or parting. The semantic field expanded to include various greetings for different times of day or contexts, but the essence remains social acknowledgment and warm communication.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "greet" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "greet" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "greet"
-eat sounds
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