howdy

H4O1W4D2Y4
/ˈhaʊdi/

interjection

An informal greeting.

“Howdy folks, and welcome to our ninth annual chili cookoff!”

Similar
hellohullohihow-do-you-do
Less commonScrabble 15
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Meanings

howdy1

interjection

alternative howdie

  1. USinformalregionalAn informal greeting.

    Howdy folks, and welcome to our ninth annual chili cookoff!

verbhowdy (third-person singular simple present howdies, present participle howdying, simple past and past participle howdied)

present singular third person howdies · participle present howdying · participle past howdied · past howdied · alternative howdie

  1. transitiveTo greet informally, especially by saying "howdy"

    I stood up for the kid and it got ugly, with accusations being thrown in both directions. So the sheriff and I weren't exactly on howdying terms when that fire happened.

    2016, Brynn Bonner, Dead in a Flash, page 249

howdy2

nounhowdy (plural howdies)

plural howdies · alternative howdie

  1. ScotlandA wife.
  2. ScotlandA midwife.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounan expression of greeting

Similar
hellohullohihow-do-you-do
Broader
greetingsalutation
Also see
helloheyhiy’reyt?

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

howdy · interjection, verb

Clipping of howdy-do, from how-d'ye-do (“how do you do”).

Full word history & related roots →

howdy · noun

Unknown.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with howdy

cloudySaudirowdydowdycrowdycrowdiemagna cum laudesubaudisumma cum laude
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

howdy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/howdy

MLA

“howdy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/howdy. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “howdy,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/howdy.

Source: howdy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.