Mardi Gras

[mahr-dee grah]

noun

1. the day before Lent, celebrated in some cities, such as New Orleans and Paris, as a day of revelry and merrymaking.

2. a pre-Lenten carnival period climaxing on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.

Mardi Gras

/ ˈmɑːdɪ ˈɡrɑː /

noun

1. the festival of Shrove Tuesday, celebrated in some cities with great revelry

Mardi Gras

1. An annual festival held in France on the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday” — meaning it is the last opportunity to eat rich food before the fast of Lent begins. It is related to celebrations elsewhere, called “carnivals,” from the Latin words carne and vale, “meat” and “farewell,” meaning a farewell to meat before the abstinence of Lent.

New Orleans, Louisiana, is famous for its Mardi Gras celebration, as is Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Mardi Gras¹

First recorded in 1690–1700; from French: literally, “fat Tuesday”; mardi “Tuesday,” Old French marsdi, from Latin diēs Mārtis, Mārtis diēs “day of Mars” ( dismal ( def. ), martial ( def. ) ); gras “fat,” from Latin grassus “fat, thick”

Word History and Origins

Origin of Mardi Gras¹

French: fat Tuesday

Example Sentences

They called it Mecca, and every week, they came to the same stretch of levee next to an abandoned warehouse where Mardi Gras floats were once built.

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He fell in love with the city when he attended Mardi Gras in 1972 with some friends from college, he said.

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Groves was convicted of second degree murder in October 2024 after he fired an assault rifle into a Mardi Gras block party, killing two adults, CBS reported.

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This followed a similar freakout during Mardi Gras last year, when X users melted down over a video of a group of college-aged girls dancing to hip-hop at a gas station in Louisiana.

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Mardi Gras Indians — are still sewing their fanciful, feathered costumes and parading in the street.

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When To Use

What is Mardi Gras?

Mardi Gras is the last day before Lent—the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It is sometimes called Fat Tuesday, which is what its name means in French.The term Mardi Gras also refers to the festival that takes place on this day and in the days (or even weeks) leading up to it. This festival is especially associated with the U.S. city of New Orleans, where it is prominently celebrated. In other places, this festival is called Carnival.Lent is the season of fasting and penitence that precedes Easter in some branches of Christianity. Mardi Gras is part of a tradition of indulging before the Lenten fast, but it is not a Christian holiday.