celebration

[ sel-uh-brey-shuh n ]

/ ˌsɛl əˈbreɪ ʃən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR celebration ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the festivities engaged in to celebrate something.

Nearby words

celebes sea, celebrant, celebrate, celebrated, celebrated jumping frog of calaveras county, the, celebration, celebratory, celebrity, celebutante, celeriac, celerity

Origin of celebration

1520–30; < Latin celebrātiōn- (stem of celebrātiō) big assembly. See celebrate, -ion

Related formsin·ter·cel·e·bra·tion, nounnon·cel·e·bra·tion, nounpre·cel·e·bra·tion, nounre·cel·e·bra·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for celebration

The prison camp island nation known as Cuba erupted in celebration.
Obama’s One Hand Clap With Castro|Doug McIntyre|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The resulting photographs are a celebration, bringing to life the peerless spirit embodied by The Macallan.
The Restaurant, Flask, And Photography Worthy of The Macallan Whisky||December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There is no celebration too small for a little bit of bubbly.
The Daily Beast’s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide: For the Carrie Bradshaw in Your Life|Allison McNearney|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Dedee was in the midst of a prayer of celebration when the call came.
‘Her Survival Was a Miracle’: The 6-Year-Old Who Beat Ebola|Wade C.L. Williams|October 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

But what is supposed to be a celebration of the genre soon feels like the last gasp of a golden era gone by.
It Was All a Dream: Drama, Bullshit, and the Rebirth of The Source Magazine|Alex Suskind|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In time of war the Athenians send to their foes safe conducts to induce them to assist at the celebration.
Pagan Origin of Partialist Doctrines|John Claudius Pitrat
Herodotus says that the Egyptians prepared themselves by fasting for the celebration of the great festival of Isis.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia|Various
"Well, that calls for celebration," said Mickey, as she drank her whiskey.
Hookers|Richard F. Mann
Have written a poem for the Hudson and Fulton celebration, September 28.
Julia Ward Howe|Laura E. Richards
How much is it to be wished, that in both the celebration of nature and of God were intrusted to none but men of noble minds!
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and Travels, Vol. I (of 2)|Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Word Origin and History for celebration

celebration

1520s, "honoring of a day or season by appropriate festivities," formed in English from celebrate, or else from Latin celebrationem (nominative celebratio) "numerous attendance" (especially upon a festival celebration), noun of action from past participle stem of celebrare. Meaning "performance of a religious ceremony" (especially the Eucharist) is from 1570s; that of "extolling in speeches, etc." is from 1670s.

celebration

noun

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Origin of celebration

Examples from the Web for celebration

Word Origin and History for celebration

celebration