bank holiday
Americannoun
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a weekday on which banks are closed by law; legal holiday.
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British. a secular day on which banks are closed, obligations then falling due being performable on the following secular day.
noun
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.
It reported that "over one billion litres of extra water were used over the bank holiday weekend compared to the same weekend in 2025".
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026
People have been urged to stay away from a flooded quarry where the water has a pH level "comparable to bleach", following a surge in visitors over the bank holiday weekend.
From BBC • May 28, 2026
A number of migrants who crossed the English Channel over the bank holiday weekend have been charged with illegal immigration offences, with some jailed.
From BBC • May 27, 2026
That provisional figure, recorded in Kew Gardens, also surpassed the hottest bank holiday Monday on record - 33.3C in August 2019.
From BBC • May 26, 2026
They made the countryside hideous on bank holiday afternoons.
From Our Casualty, and Other Stories 1918 by Birmingham, George A.
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.
