Glastonbury

American  

[glas-tuhn-ber-ee, glas-tuhn-buh-ree] / ˈglæs tənˌbɛr i, ˈglæs tən bə ri /

noun

1. a town of southwest England, in whose vicinity the ruins of an important Iron Age lake village have been found and to which in folklore both King Arthur and Joseph of Arimathea have been linked, the latter as the founder of the abbey there.

2. Glastonbury Festival, a performing arts festival held annually in southwest England.

3. a town in central Connecticut whose western boundary is formed by the Connecticut River.

---

Glastonbury British  

/ -brɪ, ˈɡlæstənbərɪ /

noun

1. a town in SW England, in Somerset: remains of prehistoric lake villages; the reputed burial place of King Arthur; site of a ruined Benedictine abbey, probably the oldest in England. Pop: 8429 (2001)

---

Etymology

Origin of Glastonbury

Old English Glestingaburg, from Glestinga, a personal name or ethnonym of disputed origin + burg “fortified town” ( see borough ( def. ))

Example Sentences

One of those people was Sir Paul McCartney, who invited Grohl to join him on stage Glastonbury in June 2022.

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026

Last year, when she performed a career-defining set at Glastonbury Festival, in front of tens of thousands of people, it wrote that she would likely return as the headliner.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

Glastonbury is a notable absence this year as the Somerset extravaganza has a fallow year, but festival fans shouldn't worry as there's plenty else on the calendar.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

Baker, who is a fan of the Glastonbury 2022 headliner, had no idea Eilish had ordered the print as it was purchased under a different name.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

Even Boughton, though, whose fairy opera The Immortal Hour opened at Glastonbury twenty-two days after the British Empire declared war on Germany in August 1914, didn’t emulate Wagner’s musical style.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall