eve
noun
the evening or the day before a holiday, church festival, or any date or event.
eve
1 American
[eev]
/ iv /
noun
-
eves
plural
-
(sometimes initial capital letter) the evening or the day before a holiday, church festival, or any date or event.
Christmas Eve; the eve of an execution.
-
the period preceding or leading up to any event, crisis, etc..
on the eve of the American Revolution.
-
the evening.
Eve
2
American
[eev]
/ iv /
noun
-
(in the Bible) the name of the first woman: wife of Adam and progenitor of the human race.
-
a female given name: from a Hebrew word meaning “life.”
Eve
1
British
/ iːv /
noun
eve
2
British
/ iːv /
noun
-
-
the evening or day before some special event or festival
-
( capital when part of a name )
New Year's Eve
-
-
the period immediately before an event
on the eve of civil war
-
an archaic word for evening
Eve
Cultural
eve
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of eve
1200–50; Middle English; variant of even 2
Explanation
An eve is the day — or night — just before some event. You might call the day before your birthday your "birthday eve." Some holidays are well-known for having the proceeding days distinguished as eves: many of us celebrate New Year's Eve, others gather for meals on Christmas Eve or Passover Eve, and the word "Halloween" comes from "All Hallow's Eve." The word eve is sometimes also a shortened form of evening, the last part of the day: "It stays light so late on a summer's eve."
Vocabulary lists containing eve
Scrabble: Palindrome Words
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3-letter words, List 2
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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.
See Examples For:
But he’s perfect for Schill: He will be sent to Nicholas and Serena on the eve of the divorce filing, be hired, and really be working as a mole for Cathcarts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Tensions flared on the eve of a critical week ahead for Paramount Skydance’s proposed $111-billion acquisition of Warner Bros.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
LONDON—On the eve of becoming the world’s first trillionaire, Elon Musk was fixated on political turmoil an ocean away from SpaceX headquarters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
We're talking on the eve of last weekend's Italian Grand Prix.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
On the eve of the execution, disobeying the order not to bother him, Úrsula visited him in his bedroom.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
She and Undergaro, who began dating in 1998, tied the knot during a live New Year’s Eve television broadcast in 2017 before celebrating with a second wedding in Greece the following year.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
This season, the NFL is adding a Thanksgiving Eve game on Netflix on top of the “Black Friday” game Amazon carries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
SoFi will also play host to the NFL’s first-ever Thanksgiving Eve game — Rams versus Green Bay Packers — on Netflix.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
Actress Eve Myles receives her 10th nomination, while Gabrielle Creevy receives her fourth.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
And how, on Christmas Eve, could he possibly be better than Santa?
From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein
Up All Night‘s” epilogue considers the post-pandemic remnants of the glamorous, somewhat gluttonous eves of yore and the effects that smartphones, social media and streaming have had on the art of going out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Norway on Tuesday introduced a 10-person limit for gatherings at private homes, although the number will be increased to 20 on Christmas and New Year’s eves.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 9, 2021
“Umbrellas were useless,” reported The Times, “the overflow from eves, awning and other projections were miniature Niagaras.”
From New York Times ● Sep. 20, 2017
Games occur in practice gyms, or intramural gyms, or gym-gyms, or in the real thing on game eves.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 29, 2017
“No. I . . .” “Speak up, sir. Why are you so strangely suspicious? Your eves are literally flickering with paranoia.”
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
