Synonyms

bank holiday

American

noun

a weekday on which banks are closed by law; legal holiday.
British. a secular day on which banks are closed, obligations then falling due being performable on the following secular day.

bank holiday British

noun

(in Britain) any of several weekdays on which banks are closed by law and which are observed as national holidays

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

bank holidays

plural

Etymology

Origin of bank holiday

First recorded in 1870–75

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.

See Examples For:

bank holiday

Areas of heavy rain and showers are expected to sweep across parts of the UK on each day of the weekend, which is a bank holiday for many.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

If that is the case, England still have more than enough time to wrap up victory over the bank holiday weekend.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

Preston Bus also withdrew off-peak journeys on several routes from Lancashire's £1 evening, Sunday and bank holiday fare scheme in April.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

It is understood the extra bank holiday would be on the Friday following England's triumph - 24 July.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

They made the countryside hideous on bank holiday afternoons.

From Our Casualty, and Other Stories 1918 by George A. Birmingham

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