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• new year
  new year

  noun

  the year approaching or newly begun.
• New Year
  New Year

  noun

  the first day or days of the year in various calendars, usually celebrated as a holiday

new year

American  

noun

1. the year approaching or newly begun.

2. New Year's Day.

3. (initial capital letters) the first day or few days of a year in any of various calendars.

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New Year British  

noun

1. the first day or days of the year in various calendars, usually celebrated as a holiday

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Etymology

Origin of new year

Middle English word dating back to 1150–1200

Example Sentences

Sales at U.S. retailers bounced back in February after a brief weak spell, suggesting the economy is still expanding at decent speed despite a turbulent start to the new year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Sales at U.S. retailers bounced back in February after a brief weak spell, suggesting the economy is still expanding at a decent pace despite a turbulent start to the new year.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

In the live, as the members sit around a table of food with a Christmas tree in the background, talk turns to how 2025 is ending and the new year is around the corner.

From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026

"We assume and hope that there will be no attacks on the first day of the new year," she told an AFP reporter based outside Iran.

From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026

They, too, clapped, just as they had done the night the Patriarch had given her an American name, at the dawn of the new year.

From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord