Holy Week

American

noun

the week preceding Easter Sunday.

Holy Week British

noun

the week preceding Easter Sunday

"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 Holy Week

1700–10; translation of Italian settimana santa

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.

Leo has repeatedly denounced ongoing global conflicts in recent weeks, using a series of Holy Week addresses to warn against what he has described as a growing indifference to war and suffering.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026

"I think that the high fuel prices that I have to pay to be here are just part of my sacrifices this Holy Week," Margate told AFP.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

Holy Week, one of the most sacred periods in the Christian calendar, centers on themes of sacrifice, suffering and redemption — making the address a direct moral intervention at a moment of global tension.

From Salon • Mar. 29, 2026

Holy Week was no holiday: The grim observances of Good Friday led solemnly though with mounting joy toward the celebration of the Resurrection and the most important observance on the Christian calendar.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

During Holy Week all pictures and statues in church were shrouded by purple silk drapes.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez

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