Boxing Day

American

[bok-sing dey] / ˈbɒk sɪŋ ˌdeɪ /

noun

(in the United Kingdom and many other members of the Commonwealth of Nations) the day after Christmas.

Boxing Day British

noun

the first day (traditionally and strictly, the first weekday) after Christmas, observed as a holiday

"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

Etymology

Origin of Boxing Day

First recorded in 1825–35

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.

Much of Aceh already had to be reconstructed with international assistance after 2004's Boxing Day tsunami, which killed more than 170,000 people in the province alone.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

Christine Clark, 64, was hunting for fossils during a Boxing Day walk on Holy Island, Northumberland when something caught her eye.

From BBC • Feb. 19, 2026

"I cannot begin to describe the anguish and trauma of the events of Boxing Day 2025," he said in a tribute released by Gloucestershire Constabulary.

From BBC • Jan. 1, 2026

United won 1-0 at home to Newcastle on Boxing Day, despite missing several injured players, including captain Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt, with three more at the Africa Cup of Nations.

From Barron's • Dec. 31, 2025

When breakfast was over, and Master Twyti had been consulted, the Boxing Day cavalcade moved off to the Meet Perhaps the hounds would have seemed rather a pack to a master of hounds today.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

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