hey
Americaninterjection
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(used as an exclamation to call attention or to express pleasure, surprise, bewilderment, etc.)
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Informal. hello: used as a greeting.
interjection
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an expression indicating surprise, dismay, discovery, etc, or calling for another's attention
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an exclamation used for emphasis at the end of a statement, or alone to seek repetition or confirmation of another person's statement
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an exclamation used by conjurors to herald the climax of a trick
Etymology
Origin of hey
1150–1200; Middle English hei
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The problem with me is I have a huge mouth and I give everything away,” she says, which — hey, great.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026
And hey, did you know that the word “raptor”—which is often used to describe birds of prey—comes from the Latin verb rapio, which means to plunder, rob, ravish, or abduct?
From Slate • Feb. 21, 2026
“She wasn’t working or getting enough jobs, and so she had suggested at one point, hey, could you help me settle these debts?,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026
"I was like hey it's a game... it's beautiful. I think I could introduce this to my community," he said.
From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026
“Buddy, hey, I told ya, ya gotta ask me for things. What do you need?”
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
