with open arms

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

With great affection or enthusiasm.

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

Are women welcome there with open arms?
The commission - hungry staff smell money and class, and the pair are welcomed with open arms.

British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).

Common questions

What does “with open arms” mean?

With great affection or enthusiasm.

Is “with open arms” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.