wel·come (w l k m)adj.1. Received with pleasure and hospitality into one's company or home: a welcome guest. 2. Giving pleasure or satisfaction; agreeable or gratifying: a welcome respite from hard work. 3. Cordially or willingly permitted or invited: You are welcome to join us. 4. Used in the expression you're welcome to acknowledge an expression of gratitude. n.1. A cordial greeting or hospitable reception given to an arriving person. 2. A reception upon arrival: gave the stranger an unfriendly welcome. 3. The state of being welcome: Don't overstay your welcome. tr.v. wel·comed, wel·com·ing, wel·comes 1. To greet, receive, or entertain (another or others) cordially or hospitably. 2. To receive or accept gladly: would welcome a little privacy. interj. Used to greet cordially a visitor or recent arrival. Idiom: wear out (one's) welcome To visit so often or stay so long as to become a nuisance.
[Middle English, alteration (influenced by wel, well) of Old English wilcuma, welcome guest, welcome; see gw - in Indo-European roots.]
wel come·ly adv. wel come·ness n. wel com·er n. |