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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Party Parlance for Mardi Gras
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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:
In California, Aperol has been a sponsor of the Coachella music festival for the past four years.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
“Once we did our own festival, it kind of reshaped my brain, coming from being in the audience. I loved it way more being back of house than being in the front of house.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
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
All we needed to do was sign a few simple documents, effectively clearing the festival organizers of any liability.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
Over the years, many weird and wonderfully shaped balloons have graced the skies - some of which have made regular appearances at balloon festivals in the UK and around the world.
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
Early in his extraordinary new documentary, “Remake,” seasoned filmmaker Ross McElwee reminisces with his young son, Adrian, about their travels together, presenting McElwee’s films at various festivals around the world.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
He made motions like tying strings into bundles, then tacked them to the firmament above him in the same way garlands were hung at the festivals in Mologa.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
