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.
-
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:
McKinstry said he now needs to work to get the shop ready for the festival.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 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
Fans will get to hear the new material live when Charli headlines the Reading & Leeds festival next month.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Then I remembered Mr. Jeffries, my art teacher, telling us about an art festival in a town called Fountain Hills that was happening next weekend.
From "Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus" by Dusti Bowling
Claiming to be from the fictional planet Zurcon, Astro the Alien has become a familiar face at UK balloon festivals.
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
Dine-in theater chain Alamo Drafthouse is launching a new initiative for indie films that debut at festivals but do not secure distribution deals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
A BBC spokesperson said festivals across the UK would continue to host BBC Introducing stages this summer with "line-ups including some fantastic up-and-coming artists".
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
They have live music and festivals, and lots of families take picnics there.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
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.
