cheerio

See also: Cheerio

English

Etymology

From cheer and/or cheery +‎ -o.

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /ˈtʃɪəɹ.i.əʊ/
(US) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃɪəɹ.i.oʊ/, [ˈt͡ʃiɹi.oʊ̯]
- Audio (US): (file)
Audio (General Australian): (file)

Interjection

cheerio

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, informal) Goodbye, an interjection said upon parting.
- 1921, P. G. Wodehouse, Indiscretions of Archie, ch. XIII. Rallying Round Percy:
  "In that case," said Archie, relieved, "cheerio, good luck, pip-pip, toodle-oo, and good-bye-ee! I'll be shifting!"
- 2019 October 23, Pip Dunn, “The next king of Scotland”, in Rail, page 50:
  But we all knew it wasn't the final end of the HST. This wasn't "goodbye", more like a "cheerio, see you someplace soon".
(rare) Hello; a greeting.
- 1947, Anita Bell, He Done Her Wrong:
  Cheerio, everybody! What a delightful gathering of charming femininity!

Usage notes

Rarely used in North America. Although likely to be understood, it is likely to be considered humorous, and may be used in a parody of British English and Irish English speakers.

Derived terms

Translations

goodbye, toodeloo — see also bye

Czech: ahoj (cs), nashle (cs)
German: tschüss (de)
Macedonian: до гле́дање (do glédanje) (formal), до виду́вање (do vidúvanje) (formal)

hello — see also hi

Czech: ahoj (cs)
German: hallo (de)
Macedonian: здра́во (zdrávo) (when greeting)

translations to be checked: exclamation used when greeting as well as when parting

Chinese:
Mandarin: 嗨 (zh) (hāi), 喂 (zh) (wèi), 你好 (zh) (nǐhǎo) (when greeting), 再會 / 再会 (zh) (zàihuì), 拜拜 (zh) (bàibài, bāibái, báibái) (when parting)
Czech: servus (cs), ahoj (cs), čau (cs)
Dutch: hoi (nl) (when greeting), doei (nl) (when parting)
Finnish: terve (fi), hei (fi)
French: salut (fr)
Hindi: बंदगी (hi) (bandgī)
Italian: ciao (it)
Japanese: こんにちは (ja) (konnichi wa), やあ (ja) (yā), どうも (ja) (dōmo) (when greeting), では (de wa), またね (mata ne), じゃ (ja) (ja), バイバイ (ja) (baibai), バイ (ja) (bai) (when parting)
Korean: 안녕 (ko) (annyeong)
Macedonian: по́здрав (pózdrav) (when greeting and when parting)
Polish: cześć (pl) (when greeting), pa (pl) (when parting)
Russian: приве́т (ru) (privét), здоро́во (ru) (zdoróvo) (when greeting); пока́ (ru) (poká), бу́дь здоро́в! (ru) (búdʹ zdoróv!) (informal, to a man), бу́дь здоро́ва! (búdʹ zdoróva!) (informal, to a woman), бу́дьте здоро́вы! (ru) (búdʹte zdoróvy!) (formal or to a group) (when parting)
Scottish Gaelic: tìoraidh
Serbo-Croatian: bok (sh), бок

Noun

cheerio (plural cheerios)

(Queensland, New Zealand) A small saveloy often consumed with tomato sauce at parties.
- 1978, New Zealand. Parliament. House of Representatives, Parliamentary Debates, page 4230:
  The man who has gone around the cocktail circuit pounding cheerios to the end of time did not come in here and open his mouth once on the Bill.

Synonyms