bon voyage

noun

bon voy·​age ˌbän-ˌvȯi-ˈäzh 

ˌbōⁿ-ˌvȯi-ˈäzh,

ˌbōⁿ-ˌvwī-ˈäzh,

-ˌvwä-ˈyäzh 

plural bon voyages

: an expression of good wishes when someone leaves on a journey : goodbye

—often used interjectionally

Synonyms

• adieu
• au revoir
• ave
• congé
• congee
• farewell
• Godspeed
• good-bye
• good-by

Examples of bon voyage in a Sentence

The crowd waved bon voyage as the ship left the dock.

everyone said their bon voyages as the happy couple left on a cruise for their honeymoon

Recent Examples on the Web

The bon voyage to the month that says goodbye to summer wasn’t all that much cooler. —Rick Hurd, The Mercury News, 1 Oct. 2024

Safe travels, or as the French would say, bon voyage! —Byprarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 29 June 2024

But, before many of the would-be travelers could say bon voyage, new restrictions were instituted. —Kelly Yamanouchi, ajc, 23 Dec. 2021

Brush up on a few French language phrases, and then bon voyage! —Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 19 Oct. 2021

Later, the crew of forty guests were welcomed into Whitney Wolfe Herd’s recently competed mountain home for a bon voyage pizza party to send everyone off to their next port of call. —Zachary Weiss, Vogue, 11 Feb. 2019

What better way to bid them bon voyage than with this elegant minimalist passport cover from Cuyana? —Sunset, 22 Jan. 2018

Word History

Etymology

French, literally, good journey!

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

bon voyage

noun

bon voy·​age ˌbōn-ˌvwī-ˈäzh  -ˌvwä-ˈyäzh 

ˌbän-

: farewell entry 2 sense 1

—usually used as an interjection

Etymology

French, literally, "good journey"