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New Year's Day

American  

noun

  1. January 1, celebrated as a holiday in many countries.


New Year's Day British  

noun

  1. Often (US and Canadian informal) shortened to: New Year's.  Jan 1, celebrated as a holiday in many countries

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of New Year's Day

Middle English word dating back to 1150–1200

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:

Fernandez maintains a positive relationship with Maresca, who left Chelsea in controversial fashion on New Year's Day and moved to Etihad Stadium in June.

From BBC Aug. 26, 2026

Imagine that it’s New Year’s Day and you’re trying to predict the stock market’s performance for the first half of 2026.

From MarketWatch Jul. 21, 2026

Ahead of the event, Pyrotecnico told AFP they were aiming to break the world record for the largest firework display, which was set on New Year's Day 2016 in the Philippines with around 810,000 fireworks.

From Barron's Jul. 6, 2026

Fast-forward to the 17th century, pretzels became commonplace in Germany, where necklaces adorned with the baked goods were worn by children on New Year’s Day to usher in good luck.

From Salon Apr. 28, 2026

Only the dating of every past and future year changes each New Year’s Day, as one counts backwards or forwards from the unitary Now.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

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