Thanksgiving Day
Americannoun
noun
Usage
What does Thanksgiving Day mean? Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada that is traditionally observed with family gatherings and large meals. It’s commonly just called Thanksgiving. It is observed in the U. S. on the fourth Thursday of November, and in Canada on the second Monday of October. Today, observation of Thanksgiving Day in the U. S. is traditionally centered around a large meal, especially one that includes a roast turkey. Other traditional Thanksgiving dishes include mashed potatoes, stuffing or dressing, and pumpkin pie. The association with eating turkey has led to the informal nickname Turkey Day. The word thanksgiving means the act of expressing or feeling thankfulness. In other words, it’s the act of giving thanks for what you’re grateful for. Example: My family has a tradition of going on a leisurely hike on Thanksgiving Day to spend some time outdoors before the big meal.
Etymology
Origin of Thanksgiving Day
An Americanism dating back to 1665–75
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.
Though they weren’t a group before the film, they have since performed together on the “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Saturday Night Live” and in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026
In his Thanksgiving Day letter to Berkshire shareholders this year, Buffett touched on the importance of being open to a change in one’s thinking.
From Barron's • Dec. 12, 2025
Adjusted for inflation, however, the forecasted average national gas price of $3.02 for Thanksgiving Day would the lowest for the holiday since the pandemic, it said.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 28, 2025
In a week of heavy national news, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade offered something surprisingly rare: a calm, comfortable holiday morning in New York.
From Salon • Nov. 27, 2025
Most children brought up in Brooklyn before the First World War remember Thanksgiving Day there with a peculiar tenderness.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
