Halloween

American  

[hal-uh-ween, -oh-een, hol-] / ˌhæl əˈwin, -oʊˈin, ˌhɒl- /

Or Hallowe'en

noun

1. the evening of October 31; the eve of All Saints' Day; Allhallows Eve: observed especially by children in costumes who solicit treats, often by threatening minor pranks.

---

Halloween British  

/ ˌhæləʊˈiːn /

noun

1. the eve of All Saints' Day celebrated on Oct 31 by masquerading; Allhallows Eve

---

Usage

What is Halloween? Halloween is a holiday on October 31 that’s essentially a celebration of spooky and scary stuff, like ghosts, witches, monsters, and haunted houses. It’s traditionally celebrated by dressing in costumes, decorating with things like jack-o’-lanterns (carved pumpkins) and fake spiderwebs, and trick or treating—going door to door to collect candy or other treats from people who are giving it out. The trick part of trick or treat is a reference to the pranks that kids sometimes play on Halloween. Halloween is especially celebrated by children, but teens and adults commonly celebrate it, too, such as by having parties (often costume parties), watching scary movies, giving out candy to kids, eating some of that candy, and then eating some of the candy that kids bring home. Halloween is a secular (nonreligious) holiday, but its name has roots in the Christian holiday Allhallows, better known as All Saints’ Day. Another name for Halloween is Allhallows Eve (the night before Allhallows). Halloween is commonly used as a modifier in phrases like Halloween costume, Halloween party, Halloween candy, and Halloween night. Example: Don’t give me this trunk or treat stuff—I want a classic Halloween, with trick or treating and haunted houses and my neighbor disguising himself as a stuffed scarecrow so he can pop up and scare kids when they try to take more than one piece of candy from the bowl.

Etymology

Origin of Halloween

First recorded in 1550–60; (All)hallow(s) + e(v)en ²

Example Sentences

A sugar-obsessed child of the 1960s, fixated on Milky Ways, Pom Poms and Mallo Cups, I’ve mostly given up sweets—even my grandchildrens’ Halloween stashes don’t interest me.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

Bhekisani Matabiswana, 27, did not know his victim but both had attended a Halloween party at Rosemount Working Men's Club in the town that night.

From BBC • May 18, 2026

A ghost stuck forever in the Halloween costume she wore — a ketchup bottle — on the night she died.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026

The Jackson 5 had their own Saturday morning cartoon and branded products; the title track of “Thriller” will always pop up on or around Halloween.

From Salon • May 14, 2026

She also said that thrift stores were the best places to find Halloween costumes, but so far I didn’t see anything that a zombie would wear.

From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff