honeymoon

[huhn-ee-moon]

noun

a vacation or trip taken by a newly married couple.

the month or so following a marriage.

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)

to spend one's honeymoon (usually followed by in or at).

Origin of honeymoon

First recorded in 1540–50; honey + moon

Related formshon·ey·moon·er, noun

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

Examples from the Web for honeymoon

Contemporary Examples of honeymoon

There is no word on where or when the Clooneys might honeymoon, but the power couple surely will have to get back to work.
After the Wedding: George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin in Venice
Barbie Latza Nadeau
September 28, 2014
There is no word where the newlyweds will spend their honeymoon.
In Run-Up to Wedding of George & Amal, Celebs and Paparazzi Stir Up the Canals of Venice
Barbie Latza Nadeau
September 27, 2014
They take you up to the honeymoon, and then leave you there.
Is ‘Satisfaction’ a Love Story That’s Too Real About Sex and Marriage?
David Masciotra
September 19, 2014
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian spent their honeymoon in Ballyfin house, one of Ireland's most stunning and exclusive stately homes.
Kanye and Kim's Irish Honeymoon Hideaway
Tom Sykes
May 30, 2014
Cara Delevingne and Michelle Rodriguez's PDA-Filled Holiday: The honeymoon phase rages on.
Cara Delevingne and Michelle Rodriguez's PDA-Filled Holiday; Emma Watson Talks Pressures of Fashion Industry
The Fashion Beast Team
March 31, 2014

Historical Examples of honeymoon

The honeymoon will be spent at the town-house of the groom, in York Terrace.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Sir W.: Then the honeymoon is not so great a success, after all?
The Strand Magazine, Volume V, Issue 25, January 1893
Various
Our honeymoon—years of it—will be spent in the Nomad, roving the universe.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, November, 1930
Various
We were on our honeymoon journey, and we came across him in Paris.
A Writer's Recollections (In Two Volumes), Volume I
Mrs. Humphry Ward
Then, a little later, Roger and she went off to spend a honeymoon in Normandy.
Changing Winds
St. John G. Ervine

British Dictionary definitions for honeymoon

honeymoon

noun

a holiday taken by a newly married couple
(as modifier)a honeymoon cottage

a holiday considered to resemble a honeymoona second honeymoon

the early, usually calm period of a relationship, such as a political or business one

verb

(intr) to take a honeymoon

Derived Formshoneymooner, noun

Word Origin for honeymoon

C16: traditionally explained as an allusion to the feelings of married couples as changing with the phases of the moon

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

Word Origin and History for honeymoon

1540s, hony moone, but probably much older, "indefinite period of tenderness and pleasure experienced by a newly wed couple," from honey (n.) in reference to the new marriage's sweetness, and moon (n.) in reference to how long it would probably last, or from the changing aspect of the moon: no sooner full than it begins to wane. French has cognate lune de miel, but German version is flitterwochen (plural), from flitter "tinsel" + wochen "week." In figurative use from 1570s. Specific sense of "post-wedding holiday" attested from c.1800; as a verb in this sense from 1821. Related: Honeymooned; honeymooning.