holiday

[ hol-i-dey ]

/ ˈhɒl ɪˌdeɪ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR holiday ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

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.

Sometimes holidays. Chiefly British. 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)

Chiefly British. to vacation: to holiday at the seaside.

Nearby words

holey, holguín, holi, holiatry, holibut, holiday, holiday camp, holiday, billie, holiday-maker, holidayer, holidaymaker

Origin of holiday

before 950; Middle English; Old English hāligdæg. See holy, day

SYNONYMS FOR holiday

2 vacation, break.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR holiday ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

pre·hol·i·day, adjective

Definition for holiday (2 of 2)

Holiday

[ hol-i-dey ]

/ ˈhɒl ɪˌdeɪ /

noun

BillieLady Day, 1915–59, U.S. jazz singer.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for holiday

Not long after the holiday presents are put away and the guests have gone home, another season begins.
Why Your New Year’s Diet Will Fail|Carrie Arnold|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
While traveling this holiday season, a relative and I were pulled over by a police officer.
Obama Is Right on Race. The Media Is Wrong.|Keli Goff|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was popularized as a holiday dessert in 16th-century England and also is known as Christmas pudding or plum pudding.
The Most Confusing Christmas Music Lyrics Explained (VIDEO)|Kevin Fallon|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But asked if he would say “Merry Christmas” to someone who he knew did not celebrate the holiday, he paused for several seconds.
A Field General in the War on Christmas|David Freedlander|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Judy, as depressing as she sounds in this song, just wants your holiday season to be happy.
The Most Confusing Christmas Music Lyrics Explained (VIDEO)|Kevin Fallon|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The life that is to be our real blessedness, and that has no need to give itself a holiday, as yet.
Faith Gartney's Girlhood|Mrs. A. D. T. Whitney
Then Straker went away for his own holiday, and when he came back he had lost sight of Furnival.
The Return of the Prodigal|May Sinclair
Irritable in the hotel hall, he perceived that this "friendship" threatened his holiday with a disastrous end.
To Tell You the Truth|Leonard Merrick
My friend the rector has shortened his holiday, and has resumed his duties in the country.
The New Magdalen|Wilkie Collins
Was this the well-known, uneventful road, where holiday people strolled on Sundays?
The Woman in White|Wilkie Collins

British Dictionary definitions for holiday (1 of 2)

holiday

/ (ˈhɒlɪˌdeɪ, -dɪ) /

noun

(often plural) mainly British

a period in which a break is taken from work or studies for rest, travel, or recreationUS and Canadian word: vacation
(as modifier)a holiday mood

a day on which work is suspended by law or custom, such as a religious festival, bank holiday, etcRelated adjective: ferial

verb

(intr) mainly British to spend a holiday

Word Origin for holiday

Old English hāligdæg, literally: holy day

British Dictionary definitions for holiday (2 of 2)

Holiday

/ (ˈhɒlɪˌdeɪ) /

noun

Billie. real name Eleanora Fagan; known as Lady Day. 1915–59, US jazz singer

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with holiday

holiday

see busman's holiday.

holiday

noun

adjective

verb (used without object)

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Nearby words

Origin of holiday

SYNONYMS FOR holiday

Related forms

Definition for holiday (2 of 2)

Holiday

noun

Examples from the Web for holiday

British Dictionary definitions for holiday (1 of 2)

holiday

noun

verb

Word Origin for holiday

British Dictionary definitions for holiday (2 of 2)

Holiday

noun

Idioms and Phrases with holiday

holiday