Columbus Day

American

[kuh-luhm-buhs day] / kəˈlʌm bəs ˌdeɪ /

noun

the second Monday in October, a U.S. legal holiday observed in many states in honor of the landing of Columbus in the West Indies on October 12, 1492: Columbus is traditionally considered the discoverer of America, though he was not the first European to reach the New World.

Columbus Day British

noun

Oct 12, a legal holiday in most states of the US: the date of Columbus' landing in the West Indies (Caribbean) in 1492

"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 Columbus Day

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95

Example Sentences

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Columbus Day

Treasury market is closed Monday for Columbus Day, while the Japanese bond market is also closed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

U.S. bond markets will be shut on Monday for Columbus Day, but the stock market will be open.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

The bond market was closed for Columbus Day.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2025

Columbus Day became a federally recognized holiday in 1971 to commemorate the landing of Columbus in the Americas in October 1492.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2025

Mrs. Drinker is excited to go away for Columbus Day weekend.

From "The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle" by Leslie Connor

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