celebrate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to observe (a day) or commemorate (an event) with ceremonies or festivities.
to celebrate Christmas; to celebrate the success of a new play.
- Synonyms:
- solemnize, commemorate
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to make known publicly; proclaim.
The newspaper celebrated the end of the war in red headlines.
-
to praise widely or to present to widespread and favorable public notice, as through newspapers or novels.
a novel celebrating the joys of marriage; the countryside celebrated in the novels of Hardy.
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to perform with appropriate rites and ceremonies; solemnize.
to celebrate a marriage.
verb (used without object)
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to observe a day or commemorate an event with ceremonies or festivities.
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to perform a religious ceremony, especially Mass or the Lord's Supper.
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to have or participate in a party, drinking spree, or uninhibited good time.
You look like you were up celebrating all night.
verb
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to rejoice in or have special festivities to mark (a happy day, event, etc)
-
(tr) to observe (a birthday, anniversary, etc)
she celebrates her ninetieth birthday next month
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(tr) to perform (a solemn or religious ceremony), esp to officiate at (Mass)
-
(tr) to praise publicly; proclaim
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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celebraternoun
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celebrationnoun
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celebratornoun
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precelebrateverb
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recelebrateverb
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celebrativeadjective
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celebratoryadjective
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uncelebratingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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celebratesimple
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celebratessimple
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have celebratedperfect
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has celebratedperfect
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am celebratingprogressive
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are celebratingprogressive
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is celebratingprogressive
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have been celebratingperfect progressive
-
has been celebratingperfect progressive
Past
-
celebratedsimple
-
had celebratedperfect
-
was celebratingprogressive
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were celebratingprogressive
-
had been celebratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of celebrate
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Latin celebrātus, past participle of celebrāre “to solemnize, celebrate, honor,” equivalent to celebr- (stem of celeber ) “often repeated, famous” + -ātus past participle suffix; see -ate 1
Explanation
To celebrate means to mark a special day, event, or holiday. You might celebrate a birthday, a religious holiday, or even the anniversary of a famous battle. Use celebrate for festive, happy occasions. If the special day, event, or holiday is more solemn or introspective, a verb like observe is often used. After we observe Memorial Day, we look forward to celebrating the Fourth of July. The verb can also mean to honor or praise — "The book celebrated the life of the actress who had given so much to worthy causes."
Vocabulary lists containing celebrate
Academy Awards, List 2
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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:
On July 10, Chey rang the bell at New York’s Nasdaq to celebrate SK Hynix’s U.S. trading debut.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
“You should celebrate, for sure, but don’t stop doing the stuff that’s going to get you where you ultimately want to be.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Spain's players were to parade through central Madrid before ending the celebrations at Cibeles square, outside City Hall, where Spanish national teams and Real Madrid traditionally celebrate major titles.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
Then Trump strolled away to join Infantino, leaving La Roja’s players to celebrate on their own.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
“I hated how sad Mom was over you. Losing you devastated her. She couldn’t celebrate my birthday without getting upset.”
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
Opening Feb. 26 at LACMA, his new art installation celebrates 25 years of his beloved debut film, “Amores Perros.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Spain celebrates both a soccer win and a sense of wider success.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
PEN America describes itself as “the only national organization that both celebrates and defends creative expression.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
She values and celebrates the culture she came up in and the extensive progress that has been made since she first started “The Robin Byrd Show.”
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
Twig had insisted on dressing as an evil witch/candy cane hybrid for Halloween, even though nobody really celebrates Halloween in France, and Twig’s mom said she was being embarrassing.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
One of Japan’s most celebrated dancers, she performed with Rudolf Nureyev 200 times and toured with Margot Fonteyn.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Argentina players Paredes, Nahuel Molina, Thiago Almada and assistant coach Roberto Ayala all appeared to be involved in the fracas on the pitch as Spain celebrated their 1-0 win.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
K'gari, the world's largest sand island, is celebrated for its striking freshwater lakes.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
Catalina Sanchez, a 64-year-old secretary who celebrated with her daughters until 4:00 am, hesitated to remove her sunglasses as she headed to work.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
Catherine, whose second birthday I celebrated with Farmer and Didi in their Paris apartment, is a teenager and attends a boarding school in the United States.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Cartier also has to spend heavily on advertising to ensure the brand is at the top of consumers’ minds when celebrating a special occasion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
"Over a shared drink, we get to reminisce about parts of our life, military service, raising a family, the loss of a friend, and celebrating the golden phase of our lives."
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
England supporters in Miami have been celebrating the team finishing third in the World Cup, after victory over France.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Where was the version of Son that everyone was celebrating a year ago?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
I decided not to shell out any of my hard-earned cash on cheap memorabilia...though celebrating with transfat was tempting.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
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.
