cheers.
A toast when drinking; also informal “thanks” or a friendly sign-off, especially in British and Irish English.
What does cheers mean?
Cheers has several everyday uses. Around drinks it is a toast. After someone helps you, it can mean thanks. At the end of an informal message, it can close the exchange in a friendly way without referring to drinking at all.
The surrounding action usually makes the meaning clear. A person holding a glass is toasting; a person accepting a returned umbrella is likely thanking you. An email ending “Cheers, Alex” is a sign-off. A short cheers can be perfectly polite in a familiar environment, though more formal contexts may call for thank you or a conventional closing.
See how it lands.
Original examples written for this entry, not quotations from the sources.
“You left your charger here.” “Cheers, I will collect it later.”
I have attached the revised schedule. Cheers, Morgan.
The right word.
The right moment.
Use it for informal thanks, a toast, or a friendly sign-off when that register suits the conversation.
Avoid assuming every cheers refers to alcohol. For a very formal request or an audience unfamiliar with the thanks sense, thank you may be clearer.
Not quite the same as…
cheer
A cheer is a shout of support or happiness. The plural-looking interjection cheers has its own conventional conversational functions.
Across the Atlantic
Thanks and sign-off uses are familiar. In the US the toast sense is especially widely recognized, while thanks usage varies.
A little backstory.
The word develops from cheer and has established toast, thanks, and farewell uses. These are older conversational conventions rather than new internet abbreviations.
Supported by Wiktionary contributors
Still wondering?
Can cheers mean thank you?
Yes, especially in informal British, Irish, and other Commonwealth English.
Is cheers okay in an email?
Often in a friendly or informal email. Match the relationship and the tone of the wider exchange.
Sources & checks
Meaning and factual notes are informed by the references below. Examples and usage advice are original editorial writing. A source documents use; it does not measure current popularity.
- cheers — English entry ↗Wiktionary contributors · checked 19 Oct 2026Supports: meaning; usage