adieu
A formal or literary way to say ‘goodbye’ when you leave someone or something.
Used when parting from someone or something, meaning ‘goodbye’ or ‘farewell’, especially in formal or literary style.
A formal or literary word for a goodbye, or the act of saying goodbye.
A farewell or the act of saying goodbye, especially in formal, literary, or emotional contexts.
- Base: adieu
- Plural: adieu, adieus, adieux
bid adieu (to [someone/something])
1Say a formal or ceremonial goodbye
To say a formal or serious goodbye to a person, place, or thing.
- At the farewell dinner, she rose to bid adieu to the company she had served for thirty years.
- We gathered on the hilltop to bid adieu to the town we had called home.
- In his final column, the journalist bid adieu to his loyal readers.
kiss something adieu
1Accept that something is gone
To accept that you will lose something or that something will not happen.
- If we miss this deadline, we can kiss the contract adieu.
- After the injury, he knew he could kiss his dream of playing professionally adieu.
- Spend all your savings on that car and you can kiss your holiday plans adieu.
say adieu to [something]
1Say goodbye to something left behind
To say goodbye to something you are leaving or will not have anymore.
- With this new policy, many drivers must say adieu to free parking.
- As the city modernizes, residents are saying adieu to many historic buildings.
- She said adieu to her quiet life and moved to a busy capital city.
wave adieu
1Wave while saying goodbye
To wave your hand as you say a formal or emotional goodbye.
- The children stood on the platform to wave adieu as the train pulled away.
- She turned to wave adieu one last time before disappearing into the crowd.