a day fixed by law or custom on which ordinary business is suspended in commemoration of some event or in honor of some person.
any day of exemption from work (distinguished from working day).
a time or period of exemption from any requirement, duty, assessment, etc..
New businesses may be granted a one-year tax holiday.
a religious feast day; holy day, especially any of several usually commemorative holy days observed in Judaism.
Chiefly British. Sometimes holidays. a period of cessation from work or one of recreation; vacation.
an unintentional gap left on a plated, coated, or painted surface.
of or relating to a festival; festive; joyous.
a holiday mood.
suitable for a holiday.
holiday attire.
(often plural)
US and Canadian word: vacation. a period in which a break is taken from work or studies for rest, travel, or recreation
( as modifier )
a holiday mood
a day on which work is suspended by law or custom, such as a religious festival, bank holiday, etc
First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English hāligdæg; equivalent to holy + day
A holiday celebrates a person, anniversary, religious belief or other occasion. You might observe the Indian holiday of Holi, and take a week off of work to celebrate with your family. A holiday is an occasion recognized by the state or federal government and marked on calendars, like Thanksgiving in the United States. Most holidays are celebratory and fun, and just about all of them mean no work or school. You can also take a holiday, or vacation. Holiday comes from "holy" and "day," meaning a religious festival, and the word was even pronounced that way until the sixteenth century.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Last month, Pouyanné lowered the diesel cap to €2.09 over several holiday weekends, most recently last Sunday for France’s Mother’s Day.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
Three of those days were a holiday weekend.
From Slate • Jun. 6, 2026
Higher ticket prices and fuel surcharges are also prompting many travellers to change holiday plans for the peak summer season in the northern hemisphere, often choosing to save money by staying closer to home.
From Barron's • Jun. 6, 2026
Police regularly put out appeals over Easter and other holiday periods for motorists to park sensibly.
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026
It was my staple thank-you, get well soon, any holiday, and most often goodbye card and could be modified to almost any animal.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
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.
