day
noun
the interval of light between two successive nights; the time between sunrise and sunset.
day
1 American
[day]
/ deɪ /
noun
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days
plural
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the interval of light between two successive nights; the time between sunrise and sunset.
Since there was no artificial illumination, all activities had to be carried on during the day.
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the light of day; daylight.
The owl sleeps by day and feeds by night.
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Astronomy.
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Also called mean solar day. a division of time equal to 24 hours and representing the average length of the period during which the earth makes one rotation on its axis.
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Also called solar day. a division of time equal to the time elapsed between two consecutive returns of the same terrestrial meridian to the sun.
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Also called civil day. a division of time equal to 24 hours but reckoned from one midnight to the next.
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an analogous division of time for a planet other than the earth.
the Martian day.
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the portion of a day allotted to work.
an eight-hour day.
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a day on which something occurs.
the day we met.
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(often initial capital letter) a day assigned to a particular purpose or observance.
New Year's Day.
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a time considered as propitious or opportune.
His day will come.
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a day of contest or the contest itself.
to win the day.
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Often a particular time or period.
the present day; in days of old.
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Usually period of life or activity.
His days are numbered.
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period of existence, power, or influence.
in the day of the dinosaurs.
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Architecture. light.
idioms
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day in, day out, every day without fail; regularly: Also day in and day out
They endured the noise and dirt of the city day in, day out.
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day and night. night.
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call it a day, to stop one's activity for the day or for the present; quit temporarily.
After rewriting the paper, she decided to call it a day.
Day
2
American
[day]
/ deɪ /
noun
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Benjamin Henry, 1810–89, U.S. newspaper publisher.
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Clarence (Shepard) 1874–1935, U.S. author.
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Dorothy, 1897–1980, U.S. Roman Catholic social activist, journalist, and publisher.
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Also Daye Stephen, 1594?–1668, U.S. colonist, born in England: considered the first printer in the Colonies.
day
1
British
/ deɪ /
noun
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Also called: civil day. the period of time, the calendar day, of 24 hours' duration reckoned from one midnight to the next
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the period of light between sunrise and sunset, as distinguished from the night
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( as modifier )
the day shift
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the part of a day occupied with regular activity, esp work
he took a day off
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(sometimes plural) a period or point in time
he was a good singer in his day
in days gone by
any day now
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the period of time, the sidereal day, during which the earth makes one complete revolution on its axis relative to a particular star. The mean sidereal day lasts 23 hours 56 minutes 4.1 seconds of the mean solar day
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the period of time, the solar day, during which the earth makes one complete revolution on its axis relative to the sun. The mean solar day is the average length of the apparent solar day and is some four minutes (3 minutes 56.5 seconds of sidereal time) longer than the sidereal day
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the period of time taken by a specified planet to make one complete rotation on its axis
the Martian day
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(often capital) a day designated for a special observance, esp a holiday
Christmas Day
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part of one's normal activity; no trouble
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in the final reckoning
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the Sabbath; Sunday
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to pass the end of one's life
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one's luck will come
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nowadays
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it's too early to tell how things will turn out
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very late (in a particular situation)
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too late
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I look forward to that
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that is most unlikely to happen
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a time of success, recognition, power, etc
his day will soon come
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a struggle or issue at hand
the day is lost
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the ground surface over a mine
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( as modifier )
the day level
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without thinking of the future
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to stop work or other activity
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without respite; relentlessly
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gradually or progressively; daily
he weakened day by day
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every day and all day long
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from the very beginning
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at some future time
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(modifier) of, relating to, or occurring in the day
the day shift
Day
2
British
/ deɪ /
noun
day
Scientific
/ dā /
day
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of day
First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English dæg; cognate with German Tag
Explanation
A day is a 24-hour period, or the length of time it takes the Earth to rotate fully on its axis. There are 365 days in a year, and 31 days in the month of January. Most work weeks last five days, and an ordinary weekend gives you two days of freedom before you go back to work or school. Day can also mean the opposite of night, or the time when the sun is up and you're awake. If your grandpa starts his stories with, "Back in my day..." he means an era or a period of time in the past. The Old English root, dæg, means both "day" and "lifetime."
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:
U.S. stocks fell for a second day in a row, with the Nasdaq composite leading indexes lower.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Fans paid £150 to attend a day of The Open at Royal Birkdale earlier this year, compared to £95 at St Andrews in 2022.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Colts offensive lineman Matt Goncalves also should be off the hook for his fine of $8,847 for a similar celebration during a game against the Kansas City Chiefs on the same day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
The Treasury plans to sell $22 billion of 30-year bonds, a day after a strong 10-year Treasury auction briefly improved the jittery tone in markets around rising yields globally.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
And one day, I was in the kitchen making a pitcher of lemonade.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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
International Financial Planning Day, which occurred this week, is an especially good time to remember this.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
A performance shock like that represented by Liberation Day did have a silver lining for Graham Capital, however.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
One event that the chief justice did attend was the annual Hupper Island Independence Day picnic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Then, on December 5, a little more than two weeks before Midsummer’s Day, Endurance set sail from Grytviken.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
Her husband’s gold Navy sword from his Vietnam days went into the Don’t Have a Clue bag before they gave it to their son.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
Even seven days would be “a lifetime to a 70-year-old innocent man who has lost everything,” he wrote in a text.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
In the video, Prince Harry also revealed that he had a rule that he would never be away from his family for more than 10 days.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
An exquisite anthology of Cohn’s writing from his early days through the present, “Corner Boy” bristles with the electric, contrarian voice of a working cultural critic.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
Uncle Max wasn’t fierce, either, but like others, he saved vacation days, crossed state lines, and came home for National Picnic.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
