red-letter
Americanadjective
-
marked by red letters, as festival days in the church calendar.
-
memorable; especially important or happy.
a red-letter day in his life.
-
(of a Bible) having the quoted words of Jesus appear in red type.
a red-letter edition;
the red-letter New Testament presented at her baptism.
Etymology
Origin of red-letter
First recorded in 1660–70
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.
This makes July 10, 2026, the red-letter day because taxpayers usually have three years after filing a return to make a claim disputing a penalty, according to Collins.
From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026
SpaceX’s big news, along with Anthropic’s showing potential to turn a profit far sooner than expected and OpenAI’s prepping for its public debut, made yesterday AI’s red-letter day.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
His 24 points - his highest tally in a Test match - included two tries, but his kicking, vision and communicative skills laid the foundation for Ireland's red-letter day.
From BBC • Sep. 10, 2023
Could Feb. 15 be a red-letter day for Nikki Haley?
From Washington Times • Feb. 7, 2023
Remember yesterday’s date, since it was a red-letter day for me.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
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.
