bank holiday

American

noun

a weekday on which banks are closed by law; legal holiday.
British. a secular day on which banks are closed, obligations then falling due being performable on the following secular day.

bank holiday British

noun

(in Britain) any of several weekdays on which banks are closed by law and which are observed as national holidays

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

bank holidays

plural

Etymology

Origin of bank holiday

First recorded in 1870–75

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:

bank holiday

It adds that there have been "calls for a bank holiday".

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

First Minister John Swinney had approved an extra bank holiday for the Monday - which was honoured by many local authorities - to allow the nation to recover.

From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026

The National Trust has asked people to be more considerate after a beauty spot was left covered in litter after the bank holiday weekend.

From BBC ● May 28, 2026

A number of migrants who crossed the English Channel over the bank holiday weekend have been charged with illegal immigration offences, with some jailed.

From BBC ● May 27, 2026

Complications arise when Sunday is preceded by a bank holiday; and, to add to the confusion, Christmas day is a bank holiday in Scotland, but a common law holiday in England.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7 "Bible" to "Bisectrix" by Various

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