celebrate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
celebrates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
celebrated,
past participle, past
-
celebrating
present participle
-
to observe (a day) or commemorate (an event) with ceremonies or festivities.
to celebrate Christmas; to celebrate the success of a new play.
- Synonyms:
- solemnize, commemorate
-
to make known publicly; proclaim.
The newspaper celebrated the end of the war in red headlines.
-
to praise widely or to present to widespread and favorable public notice, as through newspapers or novels.
a novel celebrating the joys of marriage; the countryside celebrated in the novels of Hardy.
-
to perform with appropriate rites and ceremonies; solemnize.
to celebrate a marriage.
verb (used without object)
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celebrates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
celebrated,
past participle, past
-
celebrating
present participle
-
to observe a day or commemorate an event with ceremonies or festivities.
-
to perform a religious ceremony, especially Mass or the Lord's Supper.
-
to have or participate in a party, drinking spree, or uninhibited good time.
You look like you were up celebrating all night.
verb
-
to rejoice in or have special festivities to mark (a happy day, event, etc)
-
(tr) to observe (a birthday, anniversary, etc)
she celebrates her ninetieth birthday next month
-
(tr) to perform (a solemn or religious ceremony), esp to officiate at (Mass)
-
(tr) to praise publicly; proclaim
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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celebraternoun
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celebrationnoun
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celebratornoun
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precelebrateverb
-
recelebrateverb
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celebrativeadjective
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celebratoryadjective
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uncelebratingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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celebratesimple
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celebratessimple
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have celebratedperfect
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has celebratedperfect
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am celebratingprogressive
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are celebratingprogressive
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is celebratingprogressive
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have been celebratingperfect progressive
-
has been celebratingperfect progressive
Past
-
celebratedsimple
-
had celebratedperfect
-
was celebratingprogressive
-
were celebratingprogressive
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had been celebratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of celebrate
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Latin celebrātus, past participle of celebrāre “to solemnize, celebrate, honor,” equivalent to celebr- (stem of celeber ) “often repeated, famous” + -ātus past participle suffix; see -ate 1
Explanation
To celebrate means to mark a special day, event, or holiday. You might celebrate a birthday, a religious holiday, or even the anniversary of a famous battle. Use celebrate for festive, happy occasions. If the special day, event, or holiday is more solemn or introspective, a verb like observe is often used. After we observe Memorial Day, we look forward to celebrating the Fourth of July. The verb can also mean to honor or praise — "The book celebrated the life of the actress who had given so much to worthy causes."
Vocabulary lists containing celebrate
Academy Awards, List 2
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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:
The match will be played on Notre Dame’s baseball diamond under the lights and celebrate volleyball and women’s sports.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
The tour - planned for 27 October to 4 November - will "celebrate the communities, cultures and nature within the Commonwealth family," the palace said on Wednesday.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Did you celebrate, acknowledge or talk about your 10-year anniversary together, apart from any official events for fans?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
This year there was much to discuss and little to celebrate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Consider that you have to create a lesson plan to celebrate the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
The Roadrunner celebrates his escape with a “beep beep.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Concours d’Lemons celebrates something very different: the odd, forgotten and sometimes downright terrible cars that rarely make it onto a concours lawn.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The Daily Mail also celebrates "golden girl" Amy Hunt's record win in its picture spot.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
The Taliban government celebrates five years of ruling Afghanistan on Saturday, with the authorities hailing their country's "freedom" and security, while critics decry tightening restrictions in all areas of daily life.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
At the same time the sacrament of the Mass affirms ‘the perpetual contemporaneity of The Passion’ and celebrates the ‘marriage of time present with time past’.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
He celebrated with a touch of arrogance that is so often the preserve of the special ones, staring down the Palace fans on the Holmesdale Road end.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
And Musk, the former head of the Department of Government Efficiency, celebrated America’s 250th birthday with an AI-generated video called “Sweet Land.”
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
At the Milwaukee Jewish Mission, Kander celebrated the customs these new arrivals brought over from the Old World while giving them the tools to rise and thrive in their new homes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Her legacy is being celebrated by the Trump-controlled White House, honky-tonks across the largely conservative US south, and -- especially -- in America's gay bars.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
It was a joke of long standing now, left from the time when we’d actually gone to school and celebrated days off.
From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn
After briefly celebrating with the away fans and his team-mates after the final whistle, he was the first Chelsea player to head down the tunnel.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
“The Great American Road Trip” was conceived as a travelogue, after a fashion, celebrating the 250th anniversary of America’s founding.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
Many—especially those celebrating bachelorettes, baby showers and bridal showers—want to be in the video.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Boca Juniors posted a photo on X of its midfielder Santiago Ascacibar celebrating a goal and joking that his aura was unbeatable.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
Olivia is celebrating her sister’s birthday, and Malcolm is having a sleepover.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
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.
