welcome

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

• adj. Received with pleasure and hospitality into one's company or home: a welcome guest.
• adj. Giving pleasure or satisfaction; agreeable or gratifying: a welcome respite from hard work.
• adj. Cordially or willingly permitted or invited: You are welcome to join us.
• adj. Used in the expression you're welcome to acknowledge an expression of gratitude.
• n. A cordial greeting or hospitable reception given to an arriving person.
• n. A reception upon arrival: gave the stranger an unfriendly welcome.
• n. The state of being welcome: Don't overstay your welcome.
• transitive v. To greet, receive, or entertain (another or others) cordially or hospitably.
• transitive v. To receive or accept gladly: would welcome a little privacy.
• interj. Used to greet cordially a visitor or recent arrival.
• idiom wear out (one's) welcome To visit so often or stay so long as to become a nuisance.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

• interj. Greeting given upon someone’s arrival.
• v. to affirm or greet the arrival of someone, especially by saying "Welcome!".
• v. to accept something willingly or gladly.
• adj. Whose arrival is a cause of joy.
• n. The act of greeting someone’s arrival, especially by saying "Welcome!"; reception.
• n. The utterance of such a greeting.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

• adj. Received with gladness; admitted willingly to the house, entertainment, or company.
• adj. Producing gladness; grateful.
• adj. Free to have or enjoy gratuitously.
• n. Salutation to a newcomer.
• n. Kind reception of a guest or newcomer.
• transitive v. To salute with kindness, as a newcomer; to receive and entertain hospitably and cheerfully.

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

• Gladly received for intercourse or entertainment; esteemed as one whose coming or presence is agreeable; held as doing well to come: as, a welcome guest or visitor; you are always welcome here; to make a visitor feel welcome.
• Conferring gladness on receipt or presentation; such that its perception or acquisition gives pleasure; gladly received into knowledge or possession: as, welcome news; a welcome relief.
• Gladly or willingly permitted, privileged, or the like; free to have, enjoy, etc.: as, you are welcome to do as you please; he is welcome to the money, or to all his honors.
• Synonyms and
• Acceptable, agreeable, gratifying, pleasant.
• To greet the coming of with pleasure; salute with a welcome; receive gladly or joyfully: as, to welcome a friend, or the break of day.
• n. The act of bidding or making welcome; a kindly greeting to one coming.
• n. Kind or hospitable reception of a guest or new-comer.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• n. the state of being welcome
• n. a greeting or reception
• v. bid welcome to; greet upon arrival
• adj. giving pleasure or satisfaction or received with pleasure or freely granted
• v. accept gladly
• v. receive someone, as into one's house