Mardi Gras

American  

[mahr-dee grah] / ˈmɑr di ˌgrɑ /

noun

1. the day before Lent, celebrated in some cities, such as New Orleans and Paris, as a day of revelry and merrymaking.

2. a pre-Lenten carnival period climaxing on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.

---

Mardi Gras British  

/ ˈmɑːdɪ ˈɡrɑː /

noun

1. the festival of Shrove Tuesday, celebrated in some cities with great revelry

---

Mardi Gras Cultural  

1. An annual festival held in France on the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday” — meaning it is the last opportunity to eat rich food before the fast of Lent begins. It is related to celebrations elsewhere, called “carnivals,” from the Latin words carne and vale, “meat” and “farewell,” meaning a farewell to meat before the abstinence of Lent.

---

Usage

What is Mardi Gras? Mardi Gras is the last day before Lent—the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It is sometimes called Fat Tuesday, which is what its name means in French. The term Mardi Gras also refers to the festival that takes place on this day and in the days (or even weeks) leading up to it. This festival is especially associated with the U. S. city of New Orleans, where it is prominently celebrated. In other places, this festival is called Carnival. Lent is the season of fasting and penitence that precedes Easter in some branches of Christianity. Mardi Gras is part of a tradition of indulging before the Lenten fast, but it is not a Christian holiday.

Discover More

New Orleans, Louisiana, is famous for its Mardi Gras celebration, as is Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Etymology

Origin of Mardi Gras

First recorded in 1690–1700; from French: literally, “fat Tuesday”; mardi “Tuesday,” Old French marsdi, from Latin diēs Mārtis, Mārtis diēs “day of Mars” ( cf. dismal ( def. ), martial ( def. )); gras “fat,” from Latin grassus “fat, thick”

Compare meaning

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

• carnival vs. Mardi Gras

Example Sentences

In her statement, LaBeouf attorney Chervinsky said investigation by local authorities “proved exactly what Shia LaBeouf said from the beginning — that this was nothing more than a minor Mardi Gras bar tussle.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026

I came across it late in the making of the documentary, but I have footage from 1996 at Mardi Gras in Sydney, this rickety footage.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

We were on Amtrak’s Mardi Gras Service, which launched last August after the route, which heads east from New Orleans, was shut down more than 20 years ago due to damage sustained from Hurricane Katrina.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 7, 2026

Organisers had hoped the launch of the Mardi Gras event at Mayfield Depot would help to shore up the charity's finances and create a template for future years, it adds.

From BBC • Nov. 4, 2025

I’ve always loved Mardi Gras, and for the first time, I know why: I’ve never seen such a celebration of life like this one.

From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender