holiday

hol·i·day

Use holiday in a sentence

Christmas is one example of a holiday.

noun

The definition of a holiday is a day where business is suspended in celebration of a specific event.

An example of a holiday is Christmas.

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"holiday." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/holiday>.

APA Style

holiday. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/holiday

holiday

holy day
a day of freedom from labor; day set aside for leisure and recreation
[often pl.]Chiefly Brit. a period of leisure or recreation; vacation
a day set aside by law or custom for the suspension of business, usually in commemoration of some event
any period of freedom from something: a weeklong sales-tax holiday

Origin of holiday

from Middle English holidei, with shortened first vowel from Old English h?ligdæg: see holy and day

suited to a holiday; merry, festive, etc.: a holiday atmosphere
1. of or associated with a holiday: an extended holiday weekend
2. having to do with the year-end holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year's: throngs of holiday shoppers

Chiefly Brit. to take a vacation or vacation trip

Holiday

(born Eleonora Fagan Holiday) 1915-59; U.S. jazz singer: also called Lady Day

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MLA Style

"holiday." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/holiday>.

APA Style

holiday. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/holiday

holiday

noun

A day free from work that one may spend at leisure, especially a day on which custom or the law dictates a halting of general business activity to commemorate or celebrate a particular event.
A religious feast day; a holy day.
Chiefly British A vacation. Often used in the phrase on holiday.

intransitive verb

holi·dayed, holi·day·ing, holi·days Chiefly British

To pass a holiday or vacation.

Origin of holiday

Middle English holidai holy day from Old English hālig dæg hālig holy ; see holy . dæg day ; see day .

Related Forms:

hol′i·day′er
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"holiday." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/holiday>.

APA Style

holiday. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/holiday

Noun

(plural holidays)

A day on which a festival, religious event, or national celebration is traditionally observed.
Today is a Wiccan holiday!
A day declared free from work by the government.
A period of one or more days taken off work by an employee for leisure.
A period during which pupils and students do not attend their school or university.
I want to take a French course this summer holiday.
A period taken off work or study for travel or leisure.
An unintentional gap left on a plated, coated, or painted surface.

Verb

(third-person singular simple present holidays, present participle holidaying, simple past and past participle holidayed)

To take a period of time away from work or study.
(UK) To spend a period of time for travel.

Origin

From Middle English holiday, halidei, haliȝdei, from Old English hāliġdæġ (“holy day, Sabbath”), equivalent to holy +‎ day. Cognate with Danish helligdag (“holiday”), Swedish helgdag (“holiday, feast”), Norwegian helligdag (“holiday”).