Synonyms

Christmas Eve

American

noun

the evening or the day preceding Christmas.

Christmas Eve British

noun

the evening or the whole day before Christmas Day

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Christmas Eve

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

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:

Christmas Eve

In 1974, we went home for Christmas Eve and returned the next day, Banevicius said.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

Set during Christmas Eve, it followed Dougal as he travels from Northampton to New York for his father's wedding.

From BBC ● May 10, 2026

In one typical example, a state-media-linked account on China’s do-everything app WeChat shared a video based on bodycam footage released by police in Middletown, Ohio, from a Christmas Eve 911 call in 2024.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026

We humans eat seven fishes on Christmas Eve, samosas on Eid al-Fitr and maple cookies behind the moon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026

Gram says, "How can you tell such lies on Christmas Eve?"

From "Freak The Mighty" by Rodman Philbrick

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023