celebrate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
celebrates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
celebrated,
past participle, past
-
celebrating
present participle
-
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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celebrates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
celebrated,
past participle, past
-
celebrating
present participle
-
to observe a day or commemorate an event with ceremonies or festivities.
-
to perform a religious ceremony, especially Mass or the Lord's Supper.
-
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
-
(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
-
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
-
was celebratingprogressive
-
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:
We celebrate whenever plans get canceled, that kind of thing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
CNN chairman Mark Thompson described her as "one of the most trusted and beloved journalists anywhere" and said the network will take time to celebrate her "before she departs next year".
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
When they were fixed and the road under the bridges opened late last month, a local brewery threw a party to celebrate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Some unironic astrology: To celebrate Slate’s 30th birthday, Slate writer Heather Schwedel asked several astrologers to interpret the magazine’s birth chart.
From Slate ● Oct. 13, 2026
I went to enjoy the fireworks from Istanbul and to celebrate our national independence and sang a song and played the oud.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
This year’s Nobel prize celebrates work that started with a question that may sound esoteric: how do Chlamydomonas swim toward light?
From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026
Stargazers and astronomers are preparing to enjoy a festival that celebrates the beauty of the night sky.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
The occasion for their concern is this bull market’s fourth birthday, which it celebrates this week.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
As the U.S. celebrates the animal named its national mammal in 2016, it’s worth remembering a seeming paradox: Economic forces devastated the buffalo and then, more than any act of Congress, brought it back.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
People come together to accomplish this objective, and the community celebrates that.
From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick
U2 — which features singer Bono, lead guitarist the Edge, bass player Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. — celebrated their 50th anniversary last month with a concert.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
The shared liberty of both countries was to be celebrated by this gift to America from another struggling democracy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
The festival coincides with Vijayadashami, celebrated in eastern, southern and other parts of India, to honour goddess Durga slaying the buffalo demon Mahishasura.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
Fans of the game have long celebrated its full-bore regular season, when an October contest can be a de facto knockout.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
No amount of reading about the celebrated Dr. Kane could make up for the fact that the real man, Elisha, was gone.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
New York Knicks owner James Dolan stood outside New York’s City Hall this summer celebrating his team’s first championship in 53 years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
Pope Leo XIV has been pictured celebrating Mass from hospital, in the first images of him released by the Vatican since he underwent lung surgery.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
Other events include a USC panel celebrating makeup and special effects artists that took place Tuesday and, still to come, a ’70s themed game night at members club SoHo Warehouse on Oct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
None of that has stopped Reddit and other corners of the web from celebrating and memeing the issue.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026
The boarder who rented the room was out for the evening, celebrating the end of the war.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
