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.

On Christmas Eve 2022, her asked for £150 for a car tyre, telling her if she did not help him he wouldn't visit her on Boxing Day.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026

After claiming a photo-finish victory at Kempton Park on Boxing Day to topple 2024 King George winner Banbridge and 9-4 joint-favourite Gaelic Warrior, Redknapp said: "We've come into the Champions League today."

From BBC • Mar. 12, 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

A man whose wife and two children died in a Boxing Day fire has paid tribute to his "wonderful family".

From BBC • Jan. 1, 2026

I work on Boxing Day and visit Bernie at the Bell Street Cinema the next day “Ed Kennedy!” he cries out when I get there.

From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak

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