From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgreetgreet /ɡriːt/ ●●○ verb [transitive] 1 HELLOto say hello to someone or welcome them Belinda greeted her warmly.greet somebody with something Bill opened the door to Harold and greeted him with cries of welcome.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually use say hello (to somebody) rather than greet somebody: She came out to greet us. → She came out to say hello.2 REACTto react to something in a particular waybe greeted with/by something His statement was greeted with cries of astonishment and indignation.Grammar Greet is usually passive in this meaning.3 GETto be the first thing you see or hear when you arrive somewhere Complete silence greeted us as we entered the room.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
greet• Perhaps he greets all ladies as he greeted me, but I think not.• The news has been greeted angrily within Egyptian government circles.• The delegation was greeted by the President.• She greeted each of the guests as they came through the door.• Norma greeted him at the door as though nothing had happened.• Mr Grimshaw got up from behind his desk to greet me and offer me a chair.• As Yeltsin got up to greet Stroyev, he grasped the desk to steady himself.• Open-mouthed and stale-breathed, they greet the day with a groan.• I heard Miss Temple greet them as the wife and daughters of Mr Brocklehurst.• Omar greeted those nearby as he spread their blanket with a flourish on to the damp ground.• As we entered, complete chaos greeted us.• The proposals were greeted with a mixture of skepticism and distrust.• Donaldson's remarks were greeted with cautious enthusiasm.• Bugs Bunny and other Warner cartoon characters wait to greet you, alongside the ranks of popcorn dispensers.greet somebody with something• Roz's mother greeted her with hugs and kisses.be greeted with/by something• This advice was greeted with a coughing demonstration of such force and magnitude that the audience was mesmerized.• Perhaps he had been surprised to be greeted by an adult who didn't either admonish or cross-examine him.• As Mr Clarke was interviewed, his answers were greeted with cries of outrage.• My little speech was greeted with nods of approval.• Mr Taylor arrived at Heathrow in a wheelchair to be greeted by organisers and his girlfriend Veruschka Hoffman.• She made it to Benevento, where she was greeted by the entire village.• I was greeted by the men as usual and taken to sit in a separate compound.Origin greet Old English gretan 