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.
The crew reported the severe turbulence and made a Mayday call at 08:01 with a request to divert to Bangkok.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
"Mayday" streams on Apple TV globally starting Friday.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
Boylan himself called in a Mayday at 3:14 a.m. and jumped overboard, which prosecutors described as abandoning ship.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 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
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
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
