Holi

American

[hoh-lee] / ˈhoʊ li /

noun

the Hindu spring festival.

Holi British

/ ˈhɒˌliː /

noun

a Hindu spring festival, celebrated for two to five days, commemorating Krishna's dalliance with the cowgirls. Bonfires are lit and coloured powder and water thrown over celebrants

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What is Holi? Holi is a two-day Hindu spring festival that’s primarily celebrated in India. It’s especially known for festive street celebrations in which people cover each other with colored powder. Holi is pronounced the same as the word holy. It’s sometimes known as the Festival of Colors.

Etymology

Origin of Holi

1905–10; < Hindi holī < Prakrit holiyā < Skt holikā

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Mumbai has been celebrating the Hindu festival of Holi this week.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026

Some are made for celebration, like Holi or Thanksgiving, with full plates and full hearts.

From Salon • May 26, 2025

The pair had been celebrating Holi, a Hindu festival, in a nearby village.

From BBC • Feb. 14, 2025

Holi is celebrated at the end of winter and the beginning of spring, on the last full moon day of the Hindu luni-solar calendar month of Falgun.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 22, 2024

I stitched the colors of the fireworks exploding into the sky on Lord Krishna’s birthday and the two of us covered with red powder at the celebration of Holi.

From "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023