festival
Americannoun
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a day or time of religious or other celebration, marked by feasting, ceremonies, or other observances.
the festival of Christmas; a Roman festival.
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a periodic commemoration, anniversary, or celebration.
an annual strawberry festival.
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a period or program of festive activities, cultural events, or entertainment.
a music festival.
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gaiety; revelry; merrymaking.
adjective
noun
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a day or period set aside for celebration or feasting, esp one of religious significance
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any occasion for celebration, esp one which commemorates an anniversary or other significant event
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an organized series of special events and performances, usually in one place
a festival of drama
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archaic a time of revelry; merrymaking
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(modifier) relating to or characteristic of a festival
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of festival
1300–50; Middle English < Medieval Latin fēstivālis ( diēs ) holy (day). See festive, -al 1
Explanation
A festival might be an all-day series of music performances or a weekend of short plays or films. Any program made up of many different acts, especially lasting an entire day or several days, can be called a festival. Another meaning of the word festival is "big party," again most often a celebration that lasts for a long period of time. Some festivals are religious, and others are seasonal or cultural, like a city's Italian Heritage Festival. Some famous festivals include the Fringe Festival in Scotland, Carnivale in Brazil, Oktoberfest in Germany and Burning Man in the United States. You could travel the world as a festival hopper.
Vocabulary lists containing festival
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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:
Another woman tells the BBC her encounter with the star at a music festival, when she was 14, stopped her from going to concerts altogether.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
The atmosphere was more akin to a music festival than an antigovernment rally in the middle of a war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Those riffs will be on display at the Wacken Open Air festival on Friday and during McCreary’s eight-date September “Singularity” tour of the West Coast that hits L.A. on Sept. 17.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The Seattle Times reported that the area was teeming with revelers attending a food festival called the Bite of Seattle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
“Sixty days hence, at the festival of the High Nile, Queen Tiy will wear about her beautiful neck Pharaoh’s newest gift. Aye, it will be complete by then, if I keep working.”
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
The center offers free art, film and music classes for students and seniors, houses an art gallery and hosts two annual music festivals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
"I think in the festival business in the UK... we've a lot more festivals than any country, I think per head of population, so it is tougher to survive."
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Taneal Jordan enjoyed attending local festivals and other events when she lived in Milwaukee after graduating from a local college.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
It’s a niche manufacturing business that caters to enterprising chefs and restaurateurs who are testing a concept or hitting the road for music festivals, farmers markets or a meal break at offices.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
Singer-songwriters would gather for festivals and sing their homespun songs for the benefit of a panel of judges and a live audience.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
