Holiday
//ˈhɒlɪˌdeɪ// name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A day on which a festival, religious event, or national celebration is traditionally observed.
"Today is a Wiccan holiday!"
- 2 leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure wordnet
- 3 A day declared free from work by the state or government.
- 4 a day on which work is suspended by law or custom wordnet
- 5 A period of one or more days taken off work for leisure and often travel; often plural. Australia, UK
"How much holiday are you allowed?"
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- 6 A period during which pupils do not attend their school; often plural; rarely used for students at university (usually: vacation). Australia, UK
"I want to take a French course this summer holiday."
- 7 A period during which, by agreement, the usual payments are not made.
"a mortgage payment holiday"
- 8 A gap in coverage, e.g. of paint on a surface, or sonar imagery.
Verb
- 1 To take a period of time away from work or study. British, intransitive
- 2 spend or take a vacation wordnet
- 3 To spend a period of time in recreational travel. British, intransitive
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
- 2 The holiday season or Christmas season, especially when paired with a year. US
"Holiday 2014"
Example
More examples"When you're beginning to look like the photo in your passport, you should go on a holiday."
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English halyday, holyday, halidei, haliȝdei, from Old English hāliġdæġ (“holy day, Sabbath”), equivalent to holy + day. Compare West Frisian hjeldei (“holiday”), Danish helligdag (“holiday”), Norwegian helligdag (“holiday”), Swedish helgdag (“holiday, feast”).
Etymology 2
English surname, variant of Holliday.
Related phrases
More for "holiday"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.