vacation
Americannoun
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vacations
plural
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a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday.
Schoolchildren are on vacation now.
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a part of the year, regularly set aside, when normal activities of law courts, legislatures, etc., are suspended.
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freedom or release from duty, business, or activity.
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an act or instance of vacating.
verb (used without object)
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vacations,
present (3rd person singular)
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vacationed,
past participle, past
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vacationing
present participle
noun
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a period of the year when the law courts or universities are closed
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a period in which a break is taken from work or studies for rest, travel, or recreation Also called (in Britain and certain other countries) holiday
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the act of departing from or abandoning property, etc
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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vacationsimple
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vacationssimple
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have vacationedperfect
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has vacationedperfect
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am vacationingprogressive
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are vacationingprogressive
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is vacationingprogressive
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have been vacationingperfect progressive
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has been vacationingperfect progressive
Past
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vacationedsimple
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had vacationedperfect
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was vacationingprogressive
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were vacationingprogressive
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had been vacationingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of vacation
First recorded in 1350–1400; from Latin vacātiōn-, stem of vacātiō “freedom from something”; equivalent to vacate + -ion; replacing Middle English vacacioun, from Anglo-French
Explanation
A vacation is a time specifically set aside for enjoyment or relaxation, like a dream vacation to Hawaii. Vacation began as an Old French word, meaning "freedom or release" from an activity or occupation — like summer vacation. There's no school. During summer vacation, you'll do lots of things — but you won't be in school. You might even go somewhere for a vacation. Another meaning of vacation is "voiding something legal," like the vacation of the old law about not tying your horse in front of City Hall.
Vocabulary lists containing vacation
Travel
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vac
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Blasted to Smithereens: Synonyms for "Break"
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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:
As for the passengers, it’s hard to turn down fine wine when you’re captive, bored and often in vacation mode.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Dobrindt, who cut short his summer vacation to handle the situation, said the investigation would assess if foreign powers were involved.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
A commonly held stereotype about Catalina Island is that it’s home to only the wealthy — people who can afford sailboats and vacation homes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The 2024 tax form did not originally specify how much the vacation compensation was, but it is being adjusted to show the payout was $329,243, according to Wright.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
So from then on, every time I came home for vacation, I went to the cattle camp on my own.
From "Facing the Lion" by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola
He expected a typical midsummer slump in his D.C. farmers market sales this year, as shoppers are lured away by vacations and back-to-school shopping.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
We have no debt and try to live off our Social Security, pension and annuities, only withdrawing from our Roth or IRAs for major expenses like a roof or vacations.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
She posted: "Wait wait ... my favourite is when it says we go on vacations together HA! I haven't been on a vacation in years! hbu @TomHolland1996 ???"
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
From private ranch vacations to concierge medicine, these are the ultraluxury perks top executives scored last year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Already she had read about bees and buffaloes, Bermuda vacations and Byzantine architecture.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
Before picking the destinations, the airline looked at its population of TrueBlue cardholders and where they vacationed over the past two years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Last summer, the Bidens vacationed in Lake Tahoe at the waterfront home of billionaire Tom Steyer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2024
And it turned out this was a thing; some therapists even vacationed in July to fill the end of summer void.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2024
Smith and Howell were each recently part of a group of about 15 offensive players who recently vacationed in Cabo San Lucas.
From Seattle Times ● May 22, 2024
Neither one of them had ever vacationed in Europe.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
The photo shows a vacationing couple seated in striped deck chairs beneath a brightly coloured parasol on a beach.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
But costs associated with vacationing is a “common roadblock” according to AARP.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 20, 2026
As I ambled past groups doing yoga and vacationing families lounging on the grass, pain started to radiate through my ankles and up my shinbones before settling uncomfortably in my hips.
From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026
Kristie and Joe Berg spent 15 years vacationing in a tiny one-bedroom cabin on remote Treasure Island on Puget Sound’s Case Inlet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
When my wife, Marie, and I were vacationing in Australia one summer, we decided to visit a site with well-preserved Aboriginal rock paintings in the desert near the town of Menindee.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
