Idiom idiom
bless you
Meaning
Said to someone who has just sneezed, as a polite remark.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“She sneezed loudly, and I said bless you.”
“When my colleague sneezed during the meeting, everyone turned and said bless you at the same time.”
“The old woman, sitting alone in the empty church, sneezed into her handkerchief; the priest paused his reading and quietly said bless you.”
Origin
A shortened form of the Middle English *God blesse you* or *God blisse you*, incorporating the name of God as the source of the petition. The expression emerged as a standard social formula from these Middle English antecedents.
Anchors to
Last updated August 10, 2026