What does “welcome aboard” mean in English?

First Day At Work: Meeting The New Team Member

WhatsAppGmailTelegramEmail

A2 English listening practice · English · Picked for people who know a little

💡 Did you know?
welcome aboard
English workplace phrase
a friendly way to say “welcome to the team” when someone joins a group or company

“Welcome aboard!” is something people say when a new person joins a team, a company, or a project. In the video, a new employee named David joins a marketing team, and at the end his new colleagues say: “We’re happy to have you on the team. Welcome aboard!” The word “aboard” originally meant “on a ship.” Now it is used to mean “on the team” or “part of the group.”

This phrase comes from the world of ships and planes, where “aboard” means on the vessel. Over time, people started using it to welcome new team members — the idea is that the company is like a ship, and you are now a passenger. You will also hear “on board” in similar situations: “I’m glad you’re on board with this plan.” Both are common in workplaces, schools, and sports teams. The phrase is warm and friendly, not formal.

How common are the words?

How common are the words in this A2 English listening practice video?

96.5%
of words are in the top 2,000 most common English words
Most of the words in this video are common English words.

How common in written English

89.6%
Top 1,000
96.5%
Top 2,000
99.1%
Top 5,000

How common in spoken English

92.7%
Top 1,000
97.3%
Top 2,000
100%
Top 5,000

Harder words in this video

These words are harder than A2. Here is what they mean.

commute
1×
Not in top 5,000
travel to work regularly
aboard
1×
Top 5,000People say this a lot
on or onto a vehicle
nearby
1×
Top 5,000People say this a lot
close in distance

Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-US 2012 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.

See English Videos You Can Understand on Reelang

Open English page