Synonyms

legal holiday

American

noun

a public holiday established by law, during which certain work, government business, etc., is restricted.

legal holiday British

noun

Also called (Canadian): statutory holiday. Brit equivalent: bank holiday. any of several weekdays which are observed as national holidays

"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 legal holiday

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

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:

legal holiday

The new version would designate the actual day of Lunar New Year as a legal holiday.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 17, 2023

By 1973, King’s hometown of Atlanta had designated the day as a legal holiday.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 24, 2021

Although King was assassinated in 1968, legislation designating the third Monday in January—near his Jan. 15 birthday—as a legal holiday to honor him did not pass until 1983.

From Time ● Jan. 13, 2017

Washington State does not recognize it as a legal holiday.

From New York Times ● Oct. 9, 2016

The next day being July 4th, was a legal holiday in times of peace, but was not so for this division.

From History of the Sixteenth Connecticut Volunteers by Blakeslee, B. F.

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