vacation

[vey-key-shuhn, vuh-]

noun

1. a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday.

   Schoolchildren are on vacation now.

2. a part of the year, regularly set aside, when normal activities of law courts, legislatures, etc., are suspended.

3. freedom or release from duty, business, or activity.

4. an act or instance of vacating.

verb (used without object)

1. to take or have a vacation.

   to vacation in the Caribbean.

vacation

/ vəˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. a period of the year when the law courts or universities are closed

2. a period in which a break is taken from work or studies for rest, travel, or recreation Also called (in Britain and certain other countries) holiday

3. the act of departing from or abandoning property, etc

verb

1. (intr) to take a vacation; holiday

Other Word Forms

• vacationless adjective
• vacationer noun
• vacationist noun
• minivacation noun
• prevacation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of vacation¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; from Latin vacātiōn-, stem of vacātiō “freedom from something”; equivalent to vacate + -ion; replacing Middle English vacacioun, from Anglo-French

Word History and Origins

Origin of vacation¹

C14: from Latin vacātiō freedom, from vacāre to be empty

Example Sentences

Then, as if flipping a switch, she dives into a hilarious story about how she is fighting back by forcing her adult siblings to go on annual family vacations.

From Los Angeles Times

Cook has not responded directly to the allegations, but her attorneys pointed to news reports that said she told the lender her Atlanta condo would be a vacation home.

From Los Angeles Times

Warner drowned at the beach while on vacation with his family in Costa Rica.

From Los Angeles Times

But a 2021 loan estimate for the Atlanta property shows Cook explicitly declared it as a “vacation home.”

From Salon

Newman was on a family vacation in Mexico when “The Da Vinci Code” was published.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• break 
• holiday 
• layoff 
• recess 
• respite 
• rest 
• sabbatical 
• time off