Nowruz
Americannoun
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the Persian New Year's Day.
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Zoroastrianism. the seventh feast of obligation, devoted to fire, the seventh creation.
Usage
What is Nowruz? Nowruz is a New Year celebration that coincides with the vernal equinox. Nowruz originated as a Zoroastrian observance, but it is celebrated as a holy day in multiple faiths, including by some Muslims. It is also commonly celebrated in secular ways. It is sometimes called Persian New Year or Iranian New Year. Nowruz is most closely associated with Persian and Iranian culture, but it is also observed in many other places in Central Asia, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria—and by members of these communities around the world. Like many New Year celebrations, Nowruz focuses on renewal. Many people prepare for Nowruz by cleaning their homes for spring. One of the traditional ways to observe Nowruz involves setting up a spread of items known as a sofreh or haft-seen, in which the items represent the hopes for the year ahead.
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.
At Nowruz, he and his wife "just looked really down and helpless", says Sina.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026
The island of Qeshm, where 42-year-old Sadeq is based, enjoyed a tourism boom in recent years, but saw few visitors over the usually busy Nowruz holidays marking the Iranian New Year in March.
From Barron's ● Mar. 27, 2026
A grandmother living in a Tehran suburb, Zahra would normally be looking forward to a Nowruz family reunion.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
He would even come here for the Sizdah Bedar, the 13th and last day of Nowruz, when Iranians traditionally spend the day outdoors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2026
How could there be a Nowruz tradition I didn’t know about?
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
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.
