holy day

American

noun

a consecrated day or religious festival, especially one other than Sunday.

holy day British

noun

a day on which a religious festival is observed

"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

Etymology

Origin of holy day

see origin at holiday

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.

“I’m sure they would declare a holy day on the day Fernando gets in.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2025

The attack, which happened on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, was the highest-profile antisemitic incident to hit the U.K. since the start of the war in Gaza.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 3, 2025

Police prevented demonstrators gathering outside Broadcasting House because of its close proximity to a synagogue and a risk there could be "serious disruption" as congregants attend services on the Jewish holy day.

From BBC • Jan. 18, 2025

While much of the world has Christmas in the rearview mirror by now, people in some Eastern Orthodox traditions will celebrate the holy day on Sunday.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 5, 2024

We arrived smack dab in the middle of summer, far from the nearest holy day.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023