Oktoberfest
Americannoun
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a traditional festival held each October in Munich, Germany.
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any similar festival held usually in the autumn.
Usage
What is Oktoberfest? Oktoberfest is a traditional festival held in October in Munich, Germany. It’s the largest Volksfest, which combines a beer (or sometimes wine) festival and a traveling carnival. Despite its name, Oktoberfest usually starts in September and ends in early October. Oktoberfest can also refer to any similar fall festival, especially held in the United States and featuring beer and German foods. Example: My town’s Oktoberfest always features local German beers and foods from Karl’s German Kitchen.
Etymology
Origin of Oktoberfest
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.
She had a packed schedule: first at Oktoberfest in the city of La Crosse and then at the annual Apple Festival in the small town of Gays Mills, about an hour’s drive away.
From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2026
“Van Orden should be in jail!” shouted one woman along the Oktoberfest route.
From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2026
Felix Heide, a German-born engineer and computer scientist at Princeton University who regularly returns to Munich for Oktoberfest, said he could not understand the attraction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
A spokesman for the Bavarian police told the BBC that since 2025, it has run a poster campaign at the Oktoberfest, warning against upskirting.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
The Oktoberfest starts on Friday and continues for sixteen days.
From Unborn Tomorrow by Kelly Freas
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.
