heyday
1 Americannoun
-
the stage or period of greatest vigor, strength, success, etc.; prime.
the heyday of the vaudeville stars.
-
Archaic. high spirits.
interjection
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of heyday1
1580–90; variant of high day, apparently by confusion with heyday 2
Origin of heyday2
1520–30; rhyming compound based on hey; replacing heyda < German hei da hey there
Explanation
A heyday is a peak of popularity or success. If you hear someone say "Hey! Back in the day, I was the best boxer in the city! No one could beat me!" he might be remembering his heyday as a fighter. If you remember a time in the past when you were doing something really well or getting a lot of attention or fame, you might be reminiscing about your heyday. A person or an organization — and even a thing — can have a heyday, or a peak time when everything goes well. The good news is that a heyday can come again and again, so while your heyday as student president might be just a memory, there might be a heyday as governor of your state years later.
Vocabulary lists containing heyday
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Wonder
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I've Been to the Mountaintop" (1968)
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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 its 1980s heyday, Japan commanded around half the share of the global semiconductor market.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
In its heyday, this allowed Strategy to regularly sell stock to buy more bitcoin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
I don’t know if you know what’s happening, but I’m in the heyday of my career right now.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
Tellingly, an apparent nostalgia for Makerfield's coal-mining heyday has featured in Burnham's interviews during the campaign.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
He was a child of AM radio’s Top Forty heyday.
From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez
In some ways, the current versions of the Seahawks and Patriots are reminiscent of both of their heydays.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
The fashion designers Christian Dior and Coco Chanel had a lasting influence on women’s clothes beyond their mid-20th-century heydays.
From New York Times ● Feb. 1, 2024
You’ll meet athletic European Millennials wearing multicoloured sunglasses, grey-haired US retirees with epic adventure tales from their ’70s heydays, and everyone else in between — including eager-to-learn alpine virgins like myself.
From National Geographic ● Apr. 16, 2023
In its heydays, it was an impressive structure with its spacious interiors, art deco design and sunburst mosaic floors.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2023
Even in heydays of poverty, and poor as she was, you know, notwithstanding our true love for each other, and close intimacy, I never could induce Lucy to receive a cent.
From Miles Wallingford Sequel to "Afloat and Ashore" by Cooper, James Fenimore
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.
