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.
Showing results for holiday.
Search instead for
postholiday.
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.
-
Chiefly British. Sometimes holidays. a period of cessation from work or one of recreation; vacation.
-
an unintentional gap left on a plated, coated, or painted surface.
adjective
-
of or relating to a festival; festive; joyous.
a holiday mood.
-
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
Memorial Day Words
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Easter Vocabulary
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Passover Vocabulary
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
If these things happen, Hartnett argues a year-end rebound and rally could start after the Thanksgiving holiday.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
But the Nottingham Forest midfielder was called up as a late replacement after a number of high profile pull-outs and left a family holiday to join up with the Three Lions squad.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
The results are another sign of concern about the cost of living, arriving as marketers head into their crucial holiday selling season.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
The largest part of the U.S. economy grew at a rapid pace just ahead of the holiday shopping season, but business leaders were not in a festive mood due to stubborn inflation.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026
“Did you know there’s a holiday called Halloween?”
From "Invisible Inkling" by Emily Jenkins
Times Holiday Gift Guide, we selected, tested and explored gift ideas for everyone on your list.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2026
The Holiday Meals Payment Bill, external would create a new payment for families whose children receive free school meals which would be made during school holidays to help with the cost of food.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Holiday flights can be among the biggest travel expenses of the year.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
Holiday lets "can generate important economic and social benefits, especially for households struggling to make ends meet" but "they may also aggravate housing demand pressures in some constrained local housing markets," the EU draft read.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
Dr. Holiday was a beautiful black woman with a very pleasant scent.
From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers
Auto sector production jumped around 17 percent from a month earlier following a sluggish period caused largely by factory holidays and plant maintenance over the summer.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
“Employers are holding on to the workers they have heading into the holidays, and the hiring they are announcing is largely short-term, seasonal work,” said Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
French students returning from autumn holidays blocked some high schools on Monday, determined to reinvigorate a protest movement despite government concessions during the break.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
The King stopped to talk to many of them asking them about their homework, their holidays and if they'd had a day off school.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
Now he spends half of the summer, every other weekend, Tuesday and Thursday nights and some holidays with his dad.
From "Lawn Boy Returns" by Gary Paulsen
Cullen said he had never filmed on Anglesey before but had holidayed a lot in north Wales, adding it was great that Black Church Bay was "showcasing Wales".
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
The couple often holidayed in Pesaro, where Pavarotti had a villa and was an honorary citizen.
From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2025
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
More than 18 million people holidayed in Greece in 2021.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 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
Josimar Medina, a 31-year-old Peruvian who was holidaying in Spain with his girlfriend, said he was sleeping on the Renfe train when "I woke up and I was in the air."
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
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
Speaking to AFP by phone, a Moscow resident holidaying in Feodosia on Crimea's southeastern coast said earlier this week that "everyone is afraid: locals and visitors alike."
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
The other two Britons who died since 2023 were Jane Pressley, 62, of Gainsborough in Lincolnshire, who died in January three years ago after falling ill while holidaying on Sal the previous November.
From BBC ● Feb. 1, 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
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
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.
