honeymoon
Americannoun
-
honeymoons
plural
-
a vacation or trip taken by a newly married couple (often used attributively).
After you've said "I do," why not escape to a dream honeymoon in Greece?
Relax and kindle the flame of passion in one of our honeymoon suites.
-
a period of harmony at the beginning of a marriage.
After the initial honeymoon, there may be a temptation to let routine take over.
-
any period of blissful harmony.
Their entire 60 years of marriage was one long honeymoon.
-
any new relationship characterized by an initial period of harmony and goodwill.
The honeymoon between Congress and the new president was over.
verb (used without object)
-
honeymoons,
present (3rd person singular)
-
honeymooned,
past participle, past
-
honeymooning
present participle
noun
-
-
a holiday taken by a newly married couple
-
( as modifier )
a honeymoon cottage
-
-
a holiday considered to resemble a honeymoon
a second honeymoon
-
the early, usually calm period of a relationship, such as a political or business one
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
honeymoonsimple
-
honeymoonssimple
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have honeymoonedperfect
-
has honeymoonedperfect
-
am honeymooningprogressive
-
are honeymooningprogressive
-
is honeymooningprogressive
-
have been honeymooningperfect progressive
-
has been honeymooningperfect progressive
Past
-
honeymoonedsimple
-
had honeymoonedperfect
-
was honeymooningprogressive
-
were honeymooningprogressive
-
had been honeymooningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of honeymoon
Explanation
A honeymoon is a trip that newlyweds traditionally take right after their wedding. You might want to wait to get married until you meet someone who wants to go to Legoland on a honeymoon as much as you do. Some honeymoons are long and luxurious, involving cruises and Europe or tropical beaches and fancy hotels, while others are simple and low-key. Many married couples don't take a honeymoon at all, or wait years until having a holiday they call a honeymoon. In the 1540s, it was a hony moone, and it referred more generally to the sweet, tender span of time after a wedding. In German, it's a flitterwochen, or "tinsel week."
Vocabulary lists containing honeymoon
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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:
That included newlyweds Sasha and James, who told BBC Your Voice they spent three hours stranded in Wetherspoons at Gatwick after their flight to their honeymoon was cancelled.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
On a balmy evening, Jibril “One-Armed” Yahya Ali and his new bride set out for a honeymoon drive along the beach outside al-Ghaydah, Yemen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
All of which means that the moment when Burnham rises to address MPs on Tuesday may well be the point when his honeymoon period as prime minister ends and the hard work begins.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
In his biography, “Kissinger,” Walter Isaacson wrote that before the wedding, Nixon called the bride to wish her well and warn her of poisonous snakes in Acapulco, where they were to honeymoon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
With no time for a honeymoon trip, they went straight back to code breaking.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
The marriages are not legally binding, but viewers see the couples go on "honeymoons", before moving in together and navigating their relationships - all while being filmed, almost every day.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
Massive infrastructure projects generally take longer than political honeymoons like the one Carney is enjoying, warns Alex Marland, professor of Canadian politics at Acadia University in Nova Scotia.
From Barron's ● Apr. 23, 2026
Invariably topping popular U.S. tourist destinations, it is the site of weddings, honeymoons and family vacations that span generations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2023
Now she mitigated the humiliation of letting someone else deal with her body’s waste by asking about their honeymoons and graduations and divorces.
From Slate ● Jun. 4, 2023
Others joined in only once or twice while on vacation; a few picketed while on their honeymoons.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
The family is aware of the town of Dumfries, with Denzel's uncle Morris having honeymooned there.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
In January, he married his longtime girlfriend at a ceremony in Mississippi and honeymooned in Mexico.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
They married in 2004 in her hometown of Fayetteville, Ark., and honeymooned in Africa.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2025
Still, the hotel maintained its sentimental pull as the place where your parents honeymooned; where you spent your first night in the big city; where you rendezvoused with friends.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 1, 2024
They honeymooned on Samos, the old stories tell us.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
While honeymooning in Sonoma, we saw a farmers market stand that made hot bite-sized doughnuts to order.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2024
A private tour to North America organised by Arthur Malley in 1932, which included a honeymooning Don Bradman, saw an Australian XI held to several draws including some on US soil.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2024
I read it in the summer of 2017 while honeymooning in Crete, a place whose Minoan civilization figures prominently in Cline’s narrative.
From Slate ● Apr. 28, 2024
“Still honeymooning after 52 years — and never have to say ‘I’m sorry.’
From Washington Post ● Aug. 2, 2022
He had been honeymooning with his fifth wife when he broke his leg.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
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.
