(sometimes initial capital letter) the evening or the day before a holiday, church festival, or any date or event.
Christmas Eve; the eve of an execution.
the period preceding or leading up to any event, crisis, etc..
on the eve of the American Revolution.
the evening.
(in the Bible) the name of the first woman: wife of Adam and progenitor of the human race.
a female given name: from a Hebrew word meaning “life.”
the evening or day before some special event or festival
( capital when part of a name )
New Year's Eve
the period immediately before an event
on the eve of civil war
an archaic word for evening
1200–50; Middle English; variant of even 2
An eve is the day — or night — just before some event. You might call the day before your birthday your "birthday eve." Some holidays are well-known for having the proceeding days distinguished as eves: many of us celebrate New Year's Eve, others gather for meals on Christmas Eve or Passover Eve, and the word "Halloween" comes from "All Hallow's Eve." The word eve is sometimes also a shortened form of evening, the last part of the day: "It stays light so late on a summer's eve."
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Britain's Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu recently pulled out of Wimbledon on the eve of their home Grand Slam because of injury.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Rather than playing in a passing tournament on the eve of official practice beginning on Monday, Wixom and his teammates are choosing to do something that will help others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Concerns grew louder on the eve of the tournament, as thousands of tickets for the U.S. national team’s opening game remained unsold and a referee from Somalia was denied entry over vetting concerns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
Looking to add to their 2010 triumph, Spain would hope Yamal, who will turn 19 on the eve of the tie, picks the semi-final to deliver a performance that justifies his talent.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
But on the eve of the stay- at-home the entire English-language press crumbled and urged people to go to work.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Eve Babitz — who was a close friend of 93-year-old Deanne Mencher, who still makes the cheesecakes at Dan Tana’s — was known for socializing at the restaurant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
We tend to think of ambitious centerpiece proteins as the terrain of cold-weather holidays: the Thanksgiving turkey, the glazed ham or the New Year’s Eve prime rib.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
Thea Barratt, who runs Cramptons Sports Bar in Broadstairs, Kent, said: "I took more money than I did on New Year's Eve."
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Some might associate sparkling wine mostly with special occasions, like wedding toasts or New Year’s Eve.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
For, screaming children aside, All Hallows’ Eve was already a most unsettling time.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Behind him, a building was snowed-in to the eves.
From Slate ● Apr. 3, 2023
Norway on Tuesday introduced a 10-person limit for gatherings at private homes, although the number will be increased to 20 on Christmas and New Year’s eves.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 9, 2021
“Umbrellas were useless,” reported The Times, “the overflow from eves, awning and other projections were miniature Niagaras.”
From New York Times ● Sep. 20, 2017
Bricks from the facade of Novelli Bail Bonds crushed a Nissan Sentra parked below, and the carved-stone curlicues from the Napa Library fell from its eves and littered the front steps.
From Washington Post
Still, after all this time, every time I talk about it the tears come to my eves.
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
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.
