What is the meaning of the term "73"?

The term "73" is a traditional brevity code originating from landline telegraph days, and it means "Best regards." It is widely used by amateur radio operators to politely sign off at the end of a contact. Other numbers are also used in amateur radio, which can lead to confusion. For example, "88" means "Love and kisses," which explains one of the common distractors. "DX" is used to indicate "Long distance." Using "73" is standard practice across voice, CW (Morse code), and digital modes as a friendly way to end a transmission.