Sabbath

American  

[sab-uhth] / ˈsæb əθ /

noun

1. the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, Saturday, as the day of rest and religious observance among Jews and some Christians.

2. the Sabbath, the first day of the week, Sunday, observed by most Christians as a day of public worship and often of rest.

3. any special day of prayer, worship, or rest.

4. Often sabbath a day or other period of rest or break from certain forms of activity.

   If people gave themselves a weekly sabbath from electronic devices, it would probably cure many ills.

5. Sometimes sabbath Sabbat.

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Sabbath British  

/ ˈsæbəθ /

noun

1. the seventh day of the week, Saturday, devoted to worship and rest from work in Judaism and in certain Christian Churches

2. Sunday, observed by Christians as the day of worship and rest from work in commemoration of Christ's Resurrection

3. (not capital) a period of rest

4. Also called: sabbat.   witches' Sabbath.  a midnight meeting or secret rendezvous for practitioners of witchcraft, sorcery, or devil worship

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Sabbath Cultural  

1. The holy day of rest and reflection observed each Saturday among the Jews. This custom fulfills the fourth of the Ten Commandments (“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy”). The Sabbath commemorates the last of the seven days of Creation as described in the Book of Genesis, the day God rested from his labors of creating the heavens and the Earth.

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Discover More

Christians have traditionally kept Sunday as a weekly day of rest in adaptation of the Jewish observance, and in commemoration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Some denominations, such as the Seventh-Day Adventists, observe Saturday as the Sabbath.

Other Word Forms

• Sabbathless adjective
• Sabbathlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of Sabbath

First recorded before 900; Middle English sabat, sabadt, sabath, Old English sabat, from Latin sabbatum, from Greek sábbaton, from Hebrew shabbāth “rest”

Example Sentences

Some of Debbie Israel’s fondest memories as a young girl are the times she spent with her father at synagogue praying on the Sabbath.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

The moral reasoning that shaped America comes, in part, from the Torah, read by Jews every Sabbath.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

There’s fighting and running and shooting, with the Damned and Black Sabbath on the soundtrack and, of course, oodles of deduction, from Sherlock and James alike.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026

Fans were then treated to a special arrangement of his 1991 song No More Tears performed by members of Black Sabbath and Metallica with Robbie Williams.

From BBC • Feb. 28, 2026

But no minister’s son in Phippsburg, Maine, can follow a sea breeze to the shore on the Sabbath.

From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt

Related Words

• day off
• rest day