Wellbeing

How to spell wellbeing

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce wellbeing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does wellbeing mean?

1. nounThe state of being comfortable, healthy, and content in body and mind.

Wellbeing in a sentence

• The company runs workshops to support staff wellbeing.

• Regular exercise and good sleep both improve overall wellbeing.

Where does wellbeing come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a native English compound, formed by joining the adverb 'well', which descends from Old English 'wel' meaning 'in a good manner' or 'satisfactorily', with 'being', the noun from the verb 'be' (Old English 'beon', to exist). It first appeared in the 1500s, modelled in part on the Italian phrase 'benessere' and similar continental expressions for a state of comfort and prosperity. The original sense covered material welfare and physical health, and over the centuries it broadened to take in emotional and psychological flourishing as well. Both halves are ancient Germanic words, which is why the compound looks so plain even though writers hesitate over whether to close it up, hyphenate it, or split it. The closed form 'wellbeing' is now common in British usage, while a hyphen often survives elsewhere, and that variation is the very thing that trips people up.

How the word is built

• well (in a good or satisfactory way)
• being (existence, state of being); fused into a single closed compound