holiday
noun
a day fixed by law or custom on which ordinary business is suspended in commemoration of some event or in honor of some person.
holiday
1 American
[hol-i-dey]
/ ˈhɒl ɪˌdeɪ /
noun
-
holidays
plural
-
a day fixed by law or custom on which ordinary business is suspended in commemoration of some event or in honor of some person.
-
any day of exemption from work (distinguished from working day).
-
a time or period of exemption from any requirement, duty, assessment, etc..
New businesses may be granted a one-year tax holiday.
-
a religious feast day; holy day, especially any of several usually commemorative holy days observed in Judaism.
-
Chiefly British. Sometimes holidays. a period of cessation from work or one of recreation; vacation.
-
an unintentional gap left on a plated, coated, or painted surface.
adjective
-
of or relating to a festival; festive; joyous.
a holiday mood.
-
suitable for a holiday.
holiday attire.
verb (used without object)
-
holidays,
present (3rd person singular)
-
holidayed,
past participle, past
-
holidaying
present participle
Holiday
2
American
[hol-i-dey]
/ ˈhɒl ɪˌdeɪ /
noun
holiday
1
British
/ ˈhɒlɪˌdeɪ, -dɪ /
noun
-
(often plural)
-
US and Canadian word: vacation. a period in which a break is taken from work or studies for rest, travel, or recreation
-
( as modifier )
a holiday mood
-
-
a day on which work is suspended by law or custom, such as a religious festival, bank holiday, etc
verb
Holiday
2
British
/ ˈhɒlɪˌdeɪ /
noun
holiday
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
holidaysimple
-
holidayssimple
-
have holidayedperfect
-
has holidayedperfect
-
am holidayingprogressive
-
are holidayingprogressive
-
is holidayingprogressive
-
have been holidayingperfect progressive
-
has been holidayingperfect progressive
Past
-
holidayedsimple
-
had holidayedperfect
-
was holidayingprogressive
-
were holidayingprogressive
-
had been holidayingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of holiday
First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English hāligdæg; equivalent to holy + day
Explanation
A holiday celebrates a person, anniversary, religious belief or other occasion. You might observe the Indian holiday of Holi, and take a week off of work to celebrate with your family. A holiday is an occasion recognized by the state or federal government and marked on calendars, like Thanksgiving in the United States. Most holidays are celebratory and fun, and just about all of them mean no work or school. You can also take a holiday, or vacation. Holiday comes from "holy" and "day," meaning a religious festival, and the word was even pronounced that way until the sixteenth century.
Vocabulary lists containing holiday
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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:
Back in Yorkshire, Sarah is planning her next holiday.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Ahead of the upcoming long holiday in China, steel mills are actively building up inventory, they note.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
In August 2023, on a bank holiday weekend, a problem with a single aircraft's flight plan caused a key system at Swanwick to break down, leading to cancellations and delays that affected 700,000 passengers.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
There was a stylized poster of Che Guevara celebrating a little-known holiday on Oct.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026
“We’re celebrating our holiday concert today! We’re so lucky that Kiki’s mom brought in cupcakes for everyone.”
From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari
When asked if the team was ready to face Birmingham, Holiday suddenly got excited.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
Over time her work became more personal, leaning in to Afrocentric mysticism and her distinctive voice, which sidesteps gospel projection in favor of intimate and playful phrasing that recalls Billie Holiday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
The missing Indians were in the country with three travel agencies: Samrat Tours & Travels, Leaf Holiday and Himalayan Glacier.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Two other Warner Bros. movies, “Scoob! Holiday Haunt” and “Batgirl,” were written off when almost completed, but as of now, no one has come to their rescue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Just as they had hoped, the sword-wielding thespians had scattered; presumably they had returned to the Drury Lane Theater to perform the second act of Pirates on Holiday.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
Heading into the holidays, Canada Goose is focusing on store experiences, staffing to match traffic and getting shoppers to buy more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas are still months away — but travel experts are advising those heading home for the holidays to book their flights now.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
This is different to package holidays, which are covered in full if a flight is cancelled.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
After a break for the holidays, the Grammy winner will make her way to California in January for shows in Palm Springs and Santa Barbara.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
While there are other not-quite holidays, though they are rare, the boy is not taken to see any other magicians.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
She maintains she was cautious around travel to places, including Spain, and that many people holidayed at home.
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2024
In a video statement issued from the hospital, he appeared to be in good spirits and said he had holidayed at the Sea of Galilee without properly protecting himself from a heatwave.
From Reuters ● Jul. 16, 2023
She has since only holidayed in the UK and mainland Europe, travelling by train and bike.
From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2022
As Benedict had holidayed in the diocese, and spent at least part of his time at the priest’s former place of work with his successor, the experts said they suspect he knew about the conviction.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 20, 2022
Our entire family, dad, mum, my two brothers and I, had holidayed at their place a year earlier.
From Free from School by Rahul Alvares
After holidaying on narrowboats, Andy Brown said it was "a fairly easy decision" for him and his wife to move into one post-retirement.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Speaking to AFP by phone, a Moscow resident holidaying in Feodosia on Crimea's southeastern coast said earlier this week that "everyone is afraid: locals and visitors alike."
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
The 64 year-old is one of six Britons who died after holidaying on the island country since January 2023, all of whose families are now making personal injury claims against Tui.
From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2026
The other two Britons who died since 2023 were Jane Pressley, 62, of Gainsborough in Lincolnshire, who died in January three years ago after falling ill while holidaying on Sal the previous November.
From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2026
The earliest account we have of a Lethifold was written by the wizard Flavius Belby, who was fortunate enough to survive a Lethifold attack in 1782 while holidaying in Papua New Guinea.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
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.
