holiday
noun
a day fixed by law or custom on which ordinary business is suspended in commemoration of some event or in honor of some person.
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holiday
1 American
[hol-i-day]
/ ˈhɒl ɪˌdeɪ /
noun
-
holidays
plural
-
a day fixed by law or custom on which ordinary business is suspended in commemoration of some event or in honor of some person.
-
any day of exemption from work (distinguished from working day).
-
a time or period of exemption from any requirement, duty, assessment, etc..
New businesses may be granted a one-year tax holiday.
-
a religious feast day; holy day, especially any of several usually commemorative holy days observed in Judaism.
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Chiefly British. Sometimes holidays. a period of cessation from work or one of recreation; vacation.
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an unintentional gap left on a plated, coated, or painted surface.
adjective
-
of or relating to a festival; festive; joyous.
a holiday mood.
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suitable for a holiday.
holiday attire.
verb (used without object)
-
holidays,
present (3rd person singular)
-
holidayed,
past participle, past
-
holidaying
present participle
Holiday
2
American
[hol-i-day]
/ ˈhɒl ɪˌdeɪ /
noun
holiday
1
British
/ ˈhɒlɪˌdeɪ, -dɪ /
noun
-
(often plural)
-
US and Canadian word: vacation. a period in which a break is taken from work or studies for rest, travel, or recreation
-
( as modifier )
a holiday mood
-
-
a day on which work is suspended by law or custom, such as a religious festival, bank holiday, etc
verb
Holiday
2
British
/ ˈhɒlɪˌdeɪ /
noun
holiday
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
holidaysimple
-
holidayssimple
-
have holidayedperfect
-
has holidayedperfect
-
am holidayingprogressive
-
are holidayingprogressive
-
is holidayingprogressive
-
have been holidayingperfect progressive
-
has been holidayingperfect progressive
Past
-
holidayedsimple
-
had holidayedperfect
-
was holidayingprogressive
-
were holidayingprogressive
-
had been holidayingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of holiday
First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English hāligdæg; equivalent to holy + day
Explanation
A holiday celebrates a person, anniversary, religious belief or other occasion. You might observe the Indian holiday of Holi, and take a week off of work to celebrate with your family. A holiday is an occasion recognized by the state or federal government and marked on calendars, like Thanksgiving in the United States. Most holidays are celebratory and fun, and just about all of them mean no work or school. You can also take a holiday, or vacation. Holiday comes from "holy" and "day," meaning a religious festival, and the word was even pronounced that way until the sixteenth century.
Vocabulary lists containing holiday
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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:
Amazon plans to hire more than 300,000 workers for its U.S. operations this holiday season.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
Amazon said it planned to hire more than 300,000 workers for its U.S. operations this holiday season.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
Toy maker Hasbro shares jumped 11% to $109.52 after it boosted growth projections for the year, as demand for collectible cards and other lucrative items rose ahead of the holiday shopping season.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
She added: "I for one would not want to come on holiday to a little Scottish village and have to go past the monstrosity that is being built."
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
It was my staple thank-you, get well soon, any holiday, and most often goodbye card and could be modified to almost any animal.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
It is modelled on the School Holiday Food Grant scheme introduced during the pandemic, which paid qualifying families £27 per child every fortnight.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Holiday flights can be among the biggest travel expenses of the year.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
Holiday is the goal scorer, with De La Cruz and Apolinar serving as the playmakers to get him in position to score.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
Over time her work became more personal, leaning in to Afrocentric mysticism and her distinctive voice, which sidesteps gospel projection in favor of intimate and playful phrasing that recalls Billie Holiday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
But before more could be said, the footlights were lit, the curtain rose, and Pirates on Holiday began.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
As long as there are holidays and unhappy American families, the country’s stages will never be empty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
Research suggests cousin relationships are often built at large family gatherings—weddings, holidays, reunions—and as older generations disappear, so can those regular meetups.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
With long school holidays, France's teachers have to squeeze their curriculum into 162 days per year, compared to 225 days in neighbouring Germany, according to the OECD.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Major retailers also are preparing for increased demand around the holidays and are stocking up and replenishing inventories, Seroka said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
But the holidays were only half the trouble.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
She booked the holiday in February as a "treat" because none of her grandchildren had ever holidayed abroad.
From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2024
She maintains she was cautious around travel to places, including Spain, and that many people holidayed at home.
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2024
In a video statement issued from the hospital, he appeared to be in good spirits and said he had holidayed at the Sea of Galilee without properly protecting himself from a heatwave.
From Reuters ● Jul. 16, 2023
However, since the end of the Ashes they have holidayed in beautiful Queenstown, played golf, been surfing and climbed the picturesque mountain that gives Mount Maunganui its name.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2022
Our entire family, dad, mum, my two brothers and I, had holidayed at their place a year earlier.
From Free from School by Rahul Alvares
A British national of Iraqi birth, Saad al-Hilli was holidaying with his family in the picturesque countryside of Lake Annecy in eastern France.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
Three people died after the rare rat-borne hantavirus spread through passengers holidaying on the MV Hondius cruise ship, sparking a global health scare.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
The 64 year-old is one of six Britons who died after holidaying on the island country since January 2023, all of whose families are now making personal injury claims against Tui.
From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2026
Many of them were reportedly holidaying at caravan camps.
From Barron's ● Jan. 16, 2026
The earliest account we have of a Lethifold was written by the wizard Flavius Belby, who was fortunate enough to survive a Lethifold attack in 1782 while holidaying in Papua New Guinea.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
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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.
