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
One morning not too long before Mayday, Kate the weaver’s daughter lay down in the field and declared her baby was coming right there and right then.
From "The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman
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.
