Thanksgiving Day
Americannoun
noun
Usage
What does Thanksgiving Day mean? Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada that is traditionally observed with family gatherings and large meals. It’s commonly just called Thanksgiving. It is observed in the U. S. on the fourth Thursday of November, and in Canada on the second Monday of October. Today, observation of Thanksgiving Day in the U. S. is traditionally centered around a large meal, especially one that includes a roast turkey. Other traditional Thanksgiving dishes include mashed potatoes, stuffing or dressing, and pumpkin pie. The association with eating turkey has led to the informal nickname Turkey Day. The word thanksgiving means the act of expressing or feeling thankfulness. In other words, it’s the act of giving thanks for what you’re grateful for. Example: My family has a tradition of going on a leisurely hike on Thanksgiving Day to spend some time outdoors before the big meal.
Etymology
Origin of Thanksgiving Day
An Americanism dating back to 1665–75
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.
Oh, the bitterness of the misery of that Thanksgiving-Day to Jacob Newell!
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 08, No. 50, December, 1861 by Various
It was Thanksgiving-Day, too, and they had almost all of them "lotted" upon a New-England Thanksgiving-dinner with old friends, brothers, fathers, mothers, and grandparents.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 08, No. 50, December, 1861 by Various
The subject, the Sentinel explained, was Captain Malcolm of McGraw, who had made the winning touch-down in the Thanksgiving-Day game with the Northern University of Pennsylvania.
From David Malcolm by Lloyd, Nelson
When the old man rang the evening-bell on the Thanksgiving-Day whereof I write, he aroused Jacob and his wife from deep reverie.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 08, No. 50, December, 1861 by Various
Some cursed the railroad company, some cursed the fate that had placed them there, some cursed their folly in leaving comfortable quarters in order to fast in the snow on Thanksgiving-Day.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 08, No. 50, December, 1861 by Various
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.
