a day fixed by law or custom on which ordinary business is suspended in commemoration of some event or in honor of some person.
any day of exemption from work (distinguished from working day).
a time or period of exemption from any requirement, duty, assessment, etc..
New businesses may be granted a one-year tax holiday.
a religious feast day; holy day, especially any of several usually commemorative holy days observed in Judaism.
Chiefly British. Sometimes holidays. a period of cessation from work or one of recreation; vacation.
an unintentional gap left on a plated, coated, or painted surface.
of or relating to a festival; festive; joyous.
a holiday mood.
suitable for a holiday.
holiday attire.
(often plural)
US and Canadian word: vacation. a period in which a break is taken from work or studies for rest, travel, or recreation
( as modifier )
a holiday mood
a day on which work is suspended by law or custom, such as a religious festival, bank holiday, etc
First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English hāligdæg; equivalent to holy + day
A holiday celebrates a person, anniversary, religious belief or other occasion. You might observe the Indian holiday of Holi, and take a week off of work to celebrate with your family. A holiday is an occasion recognized by the state or federal government and marked on calendars, like Thanksgiving in the United States. Most holidays are celebratory and fun, and just about all of them mean no work or school. You can also take a holiday, or vacation. Holiday comes from "holy" and "day," meaning a religious festival, and the word was even pronounced that way until the sixteenth century.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average gained 2.2% following a three-day holiday weekend.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
The Japanese market was closed due to a public holiday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Despite the constant shelling, Odesa remains a prime holiday destination for Ukrainians.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Firefighters pulled a dog that went missing nearly two weeks ago over the Fourth of July holiday from San Francisco Bay.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
As Anya approached, Kin said, “So I guess this is some kind of flowers-and-cheese holiday, huh?”
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
Featuring in cinema classics like "Roman Holiday" and "La Dolce Vita", the Vespa has a long association with the Eternal City.
From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026
And so, over Juneteenth weekend nearly 200 members of the Rosenthal family descended on the Holiday Inn in Alexandria, a city of about 43,000 in the center of Louisiana.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Surge, a very special Friday Federal Holiday edition that makes a great reading companion to your steak-and-sauerkraut breakfast.
From Slate ● Jun. 19, 2026
Other attractions include activations with the Clippers, Kings, Sparks and LAFC, and fashion and streetwear from HYPLAND, Holiday, Vandy The Pink and Research Vintage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
Morning begins with a trip, by car, to the Holiday gas station’s convenience store, where I buy a pop container full of ice and a packet of two hard-boiled eggs.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
Matthew said this summer was also going to be very difficult due to Somerset Council ending a scheme where families of children on free school meals automatically get supermarket vouchers over holidays.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Borrowed from its Weimar-era predecessor, it proclaims Sundays and holidays “days of rest from work and of spiritual elevation.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
A sequel to the hit “Home Alone,” Fricker’s Pigeon Lady was a source of unexpected tenderness for Culkin’s Kevin, now stranded during the holidays in New York.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Every year, ranch sales spike around pizza holidays like the Super Bowl and Halloween—and during the summer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
But the holidays were only half the trouble.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
The couple, who live in Ludlow, Shropshire, have holidayed at their caravan in Tywyn for many years, with Mrs Falconer having visited the area since she was a child.
From BBC ● Jan. 2, 2024
In a video statement issued from the hospital, he appeared to be in good spirits and said he had holidayed at the Sea of Galilee without properly protecting himself from a heatwave.
From Reuters ● Jul. 16, 2023
More than 18 million people holidayed in Greece in 2021.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2022
As Benedict had holidayed in the diocese, and spent at least part of his time at the priest’s former place of work with his successor, the experts said they suspect he knew about the conviction.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 20, 2022
Our entire family, dad, mum, my two brothers and I, had holidayed at their place a year earlier.
From Free from School by Alvares, Rahul
Speaking to AFP by phone, a Moscow resident holidaying in Feodosia on Crimea's southeastern coast said earlier this week that "everyone is afraid: locals and visitors alike."
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
Three people died after the rare rat-borne hantavirus spread through passengers holidaying on the MV Hondius cruise ship, sparking a global health scare.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
Many of them were reportedly holidaying at caravan camps.
From Barron's ● Jan. 16, 2026
The previous evening, Ali Ansaye, who had been holidaying in Armenia with his family, was heading back to Tehran.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2025
The earliest account we have of a Lethifold was written by the wizard Flavius Belby, who was fortunate enough to survive a Lethifold attack in 1782 while holidaying in Papua New Guinea.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
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.
