Thursday
Americannoun
noun
Usage
What does Thursday mean? Thursday is the weekday between Wednesday and Friday. In much of North and South America, where most countries (including the U. S. and Canada) consider the calendar week to begin on Sunday, Thursday is the fifth day of the week. (In other places, where the week is considered to begin on Saturday or Monday, Thursday is the sixth or fourth day of the week.)Regardless of when the week officially begins, in many places Thursday is considered the fourth day of the workweek, the five-day span from Monday to Friday during which many people work (with Saturday and Sunday considered the weekend). People famously love Friday because it’s when the workweek ends and the weekend begins, and Thursday is often thought of as being almost Friday. The word Thursdays can be used as an adverb meaning every Thursday or on Thursdays, as in I work Thursdays or The shop is closed Thursdays. To indicate the general time of day during which something will happen on a Thursday, the word can be followed by the general time, as in Thursday morning, Thursday afternoon, Thursday evening, and Thursday night. Example: At least it’s Thursday already—only one day of work between now and the weekend!
Etymology
Origin of Thursday
First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English Thursdæg, from Old Danish Thūrsdagr, literally, “Thor's day”; replacing Old English Thunres dæg; cognate with Dutch donderdag, German Donnerstag (all representing Germanic translation of Late Latin diēs Jovis ). See Thor, thunder, day
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.
The unmanned vessel, suspected to be of Ukrainian origin, was found in a cave near Lefkada on Greece's western coast on Thursday with its engine still running.
From BBC • May 9, 2026
On Thursday, the Labor Department reported a seasonally adjusted 200,000 new claims were filed for unemployment benefits in the week ended May 2.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026
Before Thursday only half a dozen of them were in that position.
From BBC • May 9, 2026
With Glasnow’s status in question, the Dodgers on Thursday reconsidered their plan for Snell.
From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026
On Thursday, November 9, 1939, I slipped into the high-necked white wedding dress with short sleeves that my mother had sewn for me, and Jimmie donned a black suit and bow tie.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
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.
