celebration
Americannoun
-
celebrations
plural
-
the act of celebrating.
We want to do something special in celebration of Amy’s great new job.
-
a party or other festive event for celebrating something.
Don’t you think the birthday celebrations for preschoolers in this neighborhood are a bit over the top?
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of celebration
First recorded in 1480–90; from Latin celebrātiōn- (stem of celebrātiō ) “large gathering, widespread use, celebration (of a festival)”; see celebrate, -ion
Explanation
A celebration is a joyful diversion. Your math class might have a celebration when you learn that the midterm has been postponed for a week. A celebration can be a festive party commemorating some joyous occasion, like your grandparents' fiftieth anniversary celebration or your brother's birthday celebration. It can also be a less formal marking of a happy event, like the arrival of your new puppy. Another meaning of celebration is a religious ceremony, such as communion or a bar mitzvah.
Vocabulary lists containing celebration
Party Parlance for Mardi Gras
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Passover Vocabulary
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List 4
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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:
Ferguson was fined $13,611 for a similar celebration during a Cowboys win over the Washington Commanders also on Sept. 20.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
“It’s a celebration of strangers that are meeting for one purpose of creating a nation out of things that maybe you cannot understand.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
One commentator on X said his death had "united Africans in celebration", external.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
"I believe an awards ceremony should be an occasion for celebration," said captain Lee Gi-hyuk, according to Yonhap News Agency.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
But there would be no celebration, because just then a fish swam up to the Ancient Shark with terrible news.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
His team also pocketed a hefty sum -- several million dollars -- for travelling to Luanda in November 2025 for a friendly marking Angola's 50th Independence Day celebrations.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Viking row celebrations took over the World Cup, and have since been adopted by college football fans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
My tiebreaker: The mythology and romance of the Boys of Summer live on to this day, and the annual Jackie Robinson Day celebrations help keep the memory of those Brooklyn teams alive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Plus, how pumping iron has lifted the Florida Gators, the NFL cracks down on beer celebrations and Jason Gay on soccer phenom Cavan Sullivan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
With gushing admiration, they photograph indigenous clothes, pay money to watch traditional dances, marvel over everything about Quichua celebrations, crafts, folktales, rituals, gods and goddesses.
From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau
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.
