Thanksgiving Day
Americannoun
noun
Usage
What does Thanksgiving Day mean? Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada that is traditionally observed with family gatherings and large meals. It’s commonly just called Thanksgiving. It is observed in the U. S. on the fourth Thursday of November, and in Canada on the second Monday of October. Today, observation of Thanksgiving Day in the U. S. is traditionally centered around a large meal, especially one that includes a roast turkey. Other traditional Thanksgiving dishes include mashed potatoes, stuffing or dressing, and pumpkin pie. The association with eating turkey has led to the informal nickname Turkey Day. The word thanksgiving means the act of expressing or feeling thankfulness. In other words, it’s the act of giving thanks for what you’re grateful for. Example: My family has a tradition of going on a leisurely hike on Thanksgiving Day to spend some time outdoors before the big meal.
Etymology
Origin of Thanksgiving Day
An Americanism dating back to 1665–75
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.
So he sat on this drear Thanksgiving-Day despondent beside his hearth.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 08, No. 50, December, 1861 by Various
We shall have to keep it in honour of our merciful escape to this land, and call it Thanksgiving-Day.'
From Swiss Family Robinson by Wyss, Johann David
Find a copy of a Thanksgiving-Day newspaper and select therefrom the fattest turkey on page 3.
From Skiddoo! by McHugh, Hugh
It came to be nine o'clock on the morning of Thanksgiving-Day, and still the snow fell with unabated violence, and still drifts piled higher and higher about the captive train.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 08, No. 50, December, 1861 by Various
And showing how Thanksgiving-Day was kept by the Mackerels.
From The Orpheus C. Kerr Papers. Series 3 by Newell, Robert H.
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.
