Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - hello

also hallo, hullo (hellos) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. You say ‘Hello’ to someone when you meet them. Hello, Trish... Do you want to pop your head in and say hallo to my girlfriend? CONVENTION c darkgreen]formulae • Hello is also a noun. The salesperson greeted me with a warm hello. N-COUNT 2. You say ‘Hello’ to someone at the beginning of a telephone conversation, either when you answer the phone or before you give your name or say why you are phoning. A moment later, Cohen picked up the phone. ‘Hello?’ CONVENTION c darkgreen]formulae 3. You can call ‘hello’ to attract someone’s attention. Very softly, she called out: ‘Hallo? Who’s there?’ CONVENTION