First Known Use: before 12th century
Dictionary
1holiday
noun hol·i·day \ˈhä-lə-ˌdā, British usually ˈhä-lə-dē\
: a special day of celebration : a day when most people do not have to work
Full Definition of HOLIDAY
1
: holy day
2
: a day on which one is exempt from work; specifically : a day marked by a general suspension of work in commemoration of an event
3
chiefly British : vacation —often used in the phrase on holiday —often used in plural
4
: a period of exemption or relief <corporations enjoying a tax holiday>
See holiday defined for English-language learners
See holiday defined for kids
ADVERTISEMENT
Origin of HOLIDAY
Middle English, from Old English hāligdæg, from hālig holy + dæg day
Other Calendar Terms
Rhymes with HOLIDAY
Adige, A-OK, alleyway, All Fools' Day, All Saints' Day, All Souls' Day, all the way, anyway, appliqué, Arbor Day, arrivé, atelier, attaché, back away, ballonet, bang away, Bastille Day, Beaujolais, beta ray, beurre manié, BHA, blow away, botonée, Boxing Day, breakaway, break away, Bristol Bay, bustier, by the way, cabaret, cableway, Camagüey, canapé, cap-a-pie, Cape Cod Bay, caraway, carriageway, cassoulet, castaway, cathode ray, champlevé, chansonnier, chardonnay, Charolais, chevalier, china clay, cloisonné, cog railway, colorway, Condorcet, consommé, coryphée, cosmic ray, croupier, crudités, cutaway, day-to-day, debauchee, déclassé, dégagé, degree-day, delta ray, démodé, devotee, disarray, disobey, distingué, divorcé, divorcée, DNA, dollar day, double play, draw away, dress-down day, eagle ray, eightfold way, émigré, engagé, entranceway, entremets, entryway, espalier, everyday, exposé, expressway, fadeaway, fallaway, fall away, faraday, Faraday, faraway, fiancé, fiancée, fill away, fire away, flageolet, flyaway, foldaway, gal Friday, gamma ray, garde-manger, Georgian Bay, getaway, girl Friday, giveaway, give away, gratiné, gratinée, Greenaway, Groundhog Day, guillemet, Harare, hell to pay, Hemingway, hereaway, hideaway, hit the hay, HLA, holy day, Hornaday, Hudson Bay, Hugh Capet, Humboldt Bay, in a way, inter se, interplay, intraday, IPA, IRA, Ise Bay, judgment day, keep-away, kyrie, Labor Day, lackaday, latter-day, layaway, lay away, lingerie, macramé, Mandalay, manta ray, Massenet, matinee, medal play, meet halfway, MIA, Milky Way, Monterrey, Mother's Day, motorway, muscadet, mystery play, negligee, New Year's Day, New York Bay, Nicolet, night and day, Nottaway, off Broadway, Ojibwa, on the way, out of play, overlay, overplay, overstay, overweigh, Paraguay, passageway, pass away, passion play, pepper spray, Petare, photoplay, pikake, pis aller, play-by-play, plug-and-play, popinjay, potter's clay, pourparler, pousse-café, power play, present-day, protégé, protégée, pull away, put away, Put-in-Bay, Rabelais, rack railway, rainy-day, rambouillet, ratiné, recamier, recherché, reconvey, repartee, repoussé, résumé, retroussé, ricochet, right away, right-of-way, rockaway, roentgen ray, rondelet, roundelay, RNA, runaway, run away, Saguenay, salt away, San Jose, Santa Fe, São Tomé, Saturday, satyr play, semplice, Seventh-Day, severance pay, shadow play, sleepaway, sobriquet, sock away, sommelier, square away, steerageway, standaway, stowaway, straightaway, street railway, Table Bay, taboret, tarsier, taxiway, tearaway, tear away, teleplay, Tenebrae, thataway, throwaway, throw away, Thunder Bay, triple play, turn away, Udine, underlay, underpay, underplay, underway, Uruguay, velouté, Venite, vérité, vertebra, virelay, walkaway, Wang Ching-wei, waterway, wellaway, Whitsunday, workaday, working day, Yenisey, Zuider Zee
2holiday
verb
: to spend a holiday in or at a particular place
Full Definition of HOLIDAY
intransitive verb
: to take or spend a holiday especially in travel or at a resort
— hol·i·day·er noun
See holiday defined for English-language learners
First Known Use of HOLIDAY
1869
Related to HOLIDAY
- Synonyms
- vacation
Holiday
biographical name Hol·i·day \ˈhä-lə-ˌdā\
Definition of HOLIDAY
Eleanora 1915–1959 Billie Am. jazz singer
HOLIDAYER Defined for Kids
holiday
noun hol·i·day \ˈhä-lə-ˌdā\
Definition of HOLIDAY for Kids
1
: a special day of celebration during which schools and businesses are often closed
2
chiefly British : 1vacation
Learn More About HOLIDAY
Browse
Next Word in the Dictionary: holiday diseasePrevious Word in the Dictionary: holiaAll Words Near: holiday
ADVERTISEMENT
Seen & Heard
What made you want to look up holiday? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).