hey

informal

1. Used as a greeting (as a substitute for "hello"). A: "Hey, John, nice to see you!" B: "Hey, Sarah, nice to see you too!" A: "Hey, Laura! Just the person I was looking for!" B: "Oh no. What do you need now, Doug?" A: "Hey Jen." B: "Hey! How are you?"

2. Used to attract someone's attention. Hey, mister! You dropped something over there! Hey! HEY! Look over here! A: "Hey! Can we get a ride?" B: "Yeah, hop in."

3. Used to express any sudden reaction, such as surprise, indignation, wonder, etc. Hey, watch it, pal! You almost ran into me! Hey, what's this pocket watch doing in here? Hey, stop looking at your phone while you're driving! What, are you trying to get us killed?

4. Used as a confirmational marker at the end of a sentence to invite the listener to respond. A variant of "eh," primarily heard in Canada. Nice weather today we're having today, hey? So you've seen Tom's new car. She's a beaut, hey? This sure is a fine cottage on the lake, hey?

Hey!

interj. hello. (Colloquial. A standard greeting in much of the South, and now heard everywhere.) Hey, Walter. How are you?

See also:

References in classic literature

"Bad, very bad; why don't you say, 'Death carries on its ravages amongst the few surviving defenders of the monarchy and the old and faithful servants of the King, whose heart bleeds under these reiterated blows?'" [Du Bruel writes rapidly.] "'Monsieur le Baron Flamet de la Billardiere died this morning of dropsy, caused by heart disease.' You see, it is just as well to show there are hearts in government offices; and you ought to slip in a little flummery about the emotions of the Royalists during the Terror,--might be useful, hey! But stay,--no!

"Hey, hey! it is papa Mitral!" cried one of them, named Chaboisseau, a little old man who discounted for a publisher.

"Hey! hey!" cried Mitral, "you've got back your bowels of compassion, papa Gigonnet!

View in context

"Hey! What's the matter along you fella boy?" he shouted to the man at the wheel.

View in context

"Hey! Why, what the dickens has come to the fellow?" said the old gentleman, as Laurie came running downstairs and brought up with a start of surprise at the astounding sight of Jo arm in arm with his redoubtable grandfather.

View in context

AND BBC2's funny, beautiful and uplifting Employable Me, with Tourette's sufferer Paul's introduction: "Hey! (Whistles.) Famous!

TOPDRAWER TELLY

This is an exciting challenge for the whole of Merseyside, so let's rise to it - for the new Alder Hey!

Let's build the best possible Alder Hey! it's liverpool

HEY! HOW OLD IS THAT KID LURKING IN THE BACKGROUND?

Antihero trust exercises

All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.