greeted

Greeted is the past tense and past participle of the verb greet. The base verb means to address someone with a welcome or friendly words, to acknowledge a person’s arrival, or to receive someone in a specified manner. In narrative or reporting, greeted describes an action that has already occurred: “She greeted the guests at the door.” It can also describe how a person or thing was received: “The audience greeted the announcement with applause.”

Grammar and usage: Greet is a regular verb. Its principal forms are greet, greeted, greeted, with the -ing form greeting. It is transitive, taking a direct object such as a person (he greeted the host) or an event (they greeted the new year). Common constructions include greeted with a smile, greeted warmly, or greeted by, at, or with (the crowd greeted them with cheers). In passive voice, it appears as “was greeted” or “were greeted.”

Etymology and related terms: The word comes from Old English grētan, meaning to address or salute. It has cognates in other Germanic languages. The noun form is greeting, referring to the act itself. Related terms include welcome and salute; however greet typically emphasizes the act of acknowledging rather than the overall reception.