celebration
Americannoun
-
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.
Celebration, unity, representation - this is the message that singer and Bollywood star Nora Fatehi says she's going to bring to Canada's World Cup opening ceremony.
From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026
The lead single, Celebration, takes that energy to the dancefloor while redefining the group's definition of fearlessness.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
Appeared in the April 27, 2026, print edition as 'A Celebration Is Disrupted by Chaos'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026
The content creator, whose full name was David Adam Williams, was found dead Monday in his home in Celebration, Fla., the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to The Times.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025
We were having a Thank Goodness Ida B’s All Right Celebration right then and there, and all that was missing were cake and presents.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
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.
