Boxing Day

American

[bok-sing dey] / ˈbɒk sɪŋ ˌdeɪ /

noun

(in the United Kingdom and many other members of the Commonwealth of Nations) the day after Christmas.

Boxing Day British

noun

the first day (traditionally and strictly, the first weekday) after Christmas, observed as a holiday

"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

Etymology

Origin of Boxing Day

First recorded in 1825–35

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.

See Examples For:

Boxing Day

Sale's most recent Prem win was against Harlequins on Boxing Day and they got the better of them again by playing the tricky conditions better and being clinical when chances came their way.

From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2026

Much of Aceh already had to be reconstructed with international assistance after 2004's Boxing Day tsunami, which killed more than 170,000 people in the province alone.

From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026

Organisers of some Christmas and Boxing Day swims in Devon and Cornwall had postponed or cancelled events due to a yellow weather warning for wind.

From BBC ● Jan. 21, 2026

"I cannot begin to describe the anguish and trauma of the events of Boxing Day 2025," he said in a tribute released by Gloucestershire Constabulary.

From BBC ● Jan. 1, 2026

It was a regular Boxing Day Meet At the edge of the forest the last follower joined up.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

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