420
Americannoun
-
marijuana.
Are you carrying any 420 on you?
-
marijuana drug use: The guys at the party were all 420-friendly.
Police presence at the concert discouraged 420.
The guys at the party were all 420-friendly.
-
the twentieth day of the fourth month, or the time 4:20, when referenced as a day or time for cannabis consumption or the celebration of marijuana culture.
The head shop has a big pipe sale every year on 420.
Usage
What is 420? 420 is a slang term (or a kind of code word) referring to marijuana or marijuana use.Due to this association, 420 is also used as the name of an unofficial holiday that marijuana enthusiasts celebrate by using marijuana. It is sometimes called Weed Day (weed is a slang term for marijuana).
Etymology
Origin of 420
First recorded in 1970–75; a code word derived from the meeting time of a particular group of marijuana smokers in 1971, later popularized by fans of the band the Grateful Dead
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.
It forecast a net loss of between 420 billion and 690 billion yen for the year to end-March, compared with an earlier profit projection of 300 billion yen.
From Barron's • Mar. 12, 2026
After that, stocks dropped to 420 in late October, followed by a rally that smashed through 600 for the first time in 1959 and quickly rallied toward 700.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 7, 2026
Demand for gold was the biggest ever for a fourth quarter, reaching 1.303 tons, boosted by ETF inflows and a 12-year high for bar- and coin-buying of 420 tons — a 30% annual gain.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 29, 2026
But while the LAPD’s attrition has outpaced recruitment in every fiscal year since 2016, the CHP saw its numbers pick back up starting in 2024, when it hired 655 new officers while losing 420.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 27, 2025
The next summer we went to France for six weeks, and I added another 420 words, most of them found in the popular gossip magazine Voici.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
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.
