celebrate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to observe (a day) or commemorate (an event) with ceremonies or festivities.
to celebrate Christmas; to celebrate the success of a new play.
- Synonyms:
- solemnize, commemorate
-
to make known publicly; proclaim.
The newspaper celebrated the end of the war in red headlines.
-
to praise widely or to present to widespread and favorable public notice, as through newspapers or novels.
a novel celebrating the joys of marriage; the countryside celebrated in the novels of Hardy.
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to perform with appropriate rites and ceremonies; solemnize.
to celebrate a marriage.
verb (used without object)
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to observe a day or commemorate an event with ceremonies or festivities.
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to perform a religious ceremony, especially Mass or the Lord's Supper.
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to have or participate in a party, drinking spree, or uninhibited good time.
You look like you were up celebrating all night.
verb
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to rejoice in or have special festivities to mark (a happy day, event, etc)
-
(tr) to observe (a birthday, anniversary, etc)
she celebrates her ninetieth birthday next month
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(tr) to perform (a solemn or religious ceremony), esp to officiate at (Mass)
-
(tr) to praise publicly; proclaim
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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celebraternoun
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celebrationnoun
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celebratornoun
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precelebrateverb
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recelebrateverb
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celebrativeadjective
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celebratoryadjective
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uncelebratingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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celebratesimple
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celebratessimple
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have celebratedperfect
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has celebratedperfect
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am celebratingprogressive
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are celebratingprogressive
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is celebratingprogressive
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have been celebratingperfect progressive
-
has been celebratingperfect progressive
Past
-
celebratedsimple
-
had celebratedperfect
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was celebratingprogressive
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were celebratingprogressive
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had been celebratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of celebrate
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Latin celebrātus, past participle of celebrāre “to solemnize, celebrate, honor,” equivalent to celebr- (stem of celeber ) “often repeated, famous” + -ātus past participle suffix; see -ate 1
Explanation
To celebrate means to mark a special day, event, or holiday. You might celebrate a birthday, a religious holiday, or even the anniversary of a famous battle. Use celebrate for festive, happy occasions. If the special day, event, or holiday is more solemn or introspective, a verb like observe is often used. After we observe Memorial Day, we look forward to celebrating the Fourth of July. The verb can also mean to honor or praise — "The book celebrated the life of the actress who had given so much to worthy causes."
Vocabulary lists containing celebrate
Academy Awards, List 2
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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:
The Indian city of Ahmedabad now stands where Victoria did four years ago - as the next hosts of an event that will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2030.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
“We beg you now to return our mother to us, so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
Mahrajan Festival is an entirely Arabic music event and fans have been telling BBC Newsbeat they are ready to "enjoy and celebrate" the milestone.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
"The Asian Pop category was created to celebrate the depth, diversity and extraordinary growth of pop artistry coming out of Asia," he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
“Let us celebrate the gift that Dismay Snowberger is”—Preacher Powell looked to me for emphasis—“to his family, his community, and the world.”
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
“The Wound Is Where the Light Enters” not only reveals the system’s horrors, but also celebrates the redemptive power of hope, intellect and community.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
Spain celebrates both a soccer win and a sense of wider success.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
July 2016: Gates celebrates “25 years of learning and laughter” with Buffett with a “virtual reality film” of the two men and a blog post.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Alonso entered the Drake Suite, which celebrates Chelsea's league title-winning managers, and said it was a "privilege and honour" to lead a club with such a successful history.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
People come together to accomplish this objective, and the community celebrates that.
From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick
That figure places Taiwan's giant forests among the most carbon-dense ecosystems in the world, comparable to some of Earth's most celebrated old-growth forests.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
Southwest celebrated the FAA certification and said it looked forward to bringing the new planes into service in "the coming months."
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
The fall of Brendan Rodgers, and Dermot Desmond's startling evisceration of a celebrated manager, could only be rivalled if Celtic's major shareholder suddenly takes a flamethrower to his relationship with O'Neill.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
They married in 1990, had a daughter, Savannah, two years later and celebrated their 36th anniversary in June.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
I found myself staring at a plate of food I had no desire to eat as the entire mountain population celebrated around us.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
That rumour was amplified by social media and the sharing of images showing hundreds of youths celebrating their entry into the territory.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
The attendees were celebrating the Foundation for Liberty and American Greatness, which announced that it had reached 2 million children with civics education since its founding in 2016.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
Its carefully planned streets and advanced brick drainage systems indicate that resources were directed toward shared infrastructure rather than monuments celebrating rulers or religious elites.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026
They're all celebrating after their Irish county Mayo overcame a 75-year-old 'curse' and finally broke its barren run in one of Ireland's biggest sporting occasions.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
We were celebrating not only my birthday, but Mr. Loomis’s recovery, which has been astonishing, though it is still not complete.
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
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.
