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Glite Dictionary
good afternoon

good afternoon

99 1.0
A polite way to say hello in the afternoon
  • noun
  • /ɡʊd ˌæf.tɚˈnuːn/
translation icon : buenas tardes
  • When I entered the room, I smiled and said, "Good afternoon!"
  • say good afternoon
  • good afternoon and welcome
  • good afternoon, sir

Examples

  • Good afternoon, everyone.

    End Game (2006)

  • "Good afternoon," he said when he noticed that she had joined him.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Thanks for a good afternoon and see you next Thursday.

  • So good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the jury.

  • Thank you, have a good afternoon.

    Mars (2024)

  • Thanks so much, Judy, and good afternoon, everyone.

  • Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

    Major League (1989)

  • "Good afternoon," he said, proffering his card and taking the chair on the other side of the desk.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • PILOT: (ON PA) Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

    People Like Us (2012)

  • Good afternoon, I'm Antonia Chavez and this is a W-A-T-C-H Special Report.

    Fiction book (1994)

Synonyms

to hello
vsgood afternoon
1 1.0

Say a short greeting when you meet someone or answer the phone

is used politely specifically during the afternoon
bonjour
vsgood afternoon
1 8.2

A French word used to say hello in the morning or early afternoon

is used politely specifically during the afternoon

Surface Forms

good afternoon singular
good afternoons plural

Morphology

good + afternoon

The phrase is a straightforward compositional combination: 'good' modifies the time noun 'afternoon' to offer a positive wish about that time of day, which directly signals a polite greeting. This pattern of adjective + time-of-day as a salutation is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer it as a greeting.

Etymology

Good afternoon is a polite greeting made by joining good and afternoon, literally wishing someone a pleasant time after midday. So people use it to 'greet' someone or to 'wish' them well during the afternoon.