blessing

noun

bless·​ing ˈble-siŋ 

1

a

: the act or words of one that blesses

say the blessing over the wine

a priestly blessing

b

: approval, encouragement

asked her parents for their blessing before he proposed

2

: a thing conducive to happiness or welfare

My daughter is a blessing to me in my old age.

Their absence turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Count your blessings.

3

: grace (see grace entry 1 sense 5) said at a meal

said the blessing before dinner

Synonyms

• benediction
• benison

Examples of blessing in a Sentence

Presumably he was acting with the government's blessing.

They got married without their parents' blessing.

We asked the Lord's blessing on us and on our project.

He said a blessing before the meal.

Recent Examples on the Web

Many Threads users called Sluys a blessing and a treasure. —Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 May 2025

Ralph brings up the Drew-and-Dennis situation, casually mentioning that Dennis reached out for his blessing. —Shelby Stewart, Essence, 12 May 2025

Doha is pushing the Trump administration to lift sanctions on Syria under the Caesar Act, the official said, adding that Qatar is wary about providing any financial support to Syria without Washington’s blessing. —Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 11 May 2025

And this morning, Pope Leo XIV has given his first Sunday blessing of the faithful here in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. —ABC News, 11 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

see bless

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing blessing

• mixed blessing
• second blessing

Rhymes for blessing

• dressing
• guessing
• messing
• pressing
• stressing
• accessing
• addressing
• assessing
• caressing
• compressing
• confessing
• depressing

Kids Definition

blessing

noun

bless·​ing

ˈbles-iŋ

1

: the act or words of one that blesses

2

: approval

gave my blessing to the plan

3

: something that makes one happy or content

4

: grace said at a meal