Labor Day

American

noun

(in the U.S.) a legal holiday, commonly the first Monday in September, in honor of labor.

Labor Day British

noun

(in the US and Canada) a public holiday in honour of labour, held on the first Monday in September
(in Australia) a public holiday observed on different days in different states

"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

Labor Day Cultural

A national holiday in the United States and Canada in honor of working people. Labor Day is observed on the first Monday in September.

Etymology

Origin of Labor Day

First recorded in 1885–90

Compare meaning

How does labor-day compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

May Day vs. Labor Day

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:

Labor Day

Retail gasoline rose 13 cents in the prior week, veering off its usual path of declining after the Labor Day holiday.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

I hope everyone in the U.S. was able to enjoy a nice Labor Day weekend.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

The three-minute video was posted by the president on the US Labor Day holiday and opens with footage of French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace as a guardsman appears to collapse behind him.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

U.S. stocks were broadly lower on Tuesday as trading resumed following the Labor Day holiday.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

It’s Saturday—and Labor Day weekend—and CityPlace is more crowded than I’ve ever seen it in the daytime.

From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina

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