Mayday
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of Mayday
First recorded in 1925–30; from French (venez) m'aider “(come) help me,” contraction of m(e) “me” ( see also me ( def. )) aider “to help” ( see aid ( def. ))
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.
Afterward the beau monde had a few days to find new costumes for the Monday Mayday masquerade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
In “The Testaments,” Lucy Halliday stars as Daisy, a new Pearl Girl who is really an undercover spy for Mayday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026
In late January, after Mayday countersued in a federal court in New York, that court temporarily blocked South Dakota’s actions.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2026
“In that case,” a pilot responded, “we declare emergency: Mayday. Mayday, Mayday.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 21, 2025
Mayday, mayday, for pilots whose planes had been hit, and ships — was it ships too? — at sea.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
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.
