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holiday

holiday

135 1.0
A period of time away from work or school for rest and travel
  • noun
  • /ˈhɑːləˌdeɪ/
  • UK
: vacaciones
  • For our next holiday, we plan to travel to Italy and explore its historic cities.
  • go on holiday
  • spend the holidays
  • holiday package

You bought over the holidays an Alexa product.

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Examples

  • Was your maid away on holiday again?

  • Some family members may travel long distances to spend the holiday at this specific place.

    Academic text (1990)
  • What is your all time favorite holiday food or sweet treat?

  • If you could choose one holiday to be off a year, which one would it be and why?

    Academic text (2011)
  • What was my first childhood holiday on a plane, Joe?

  • How you choose to celebrate the holidays is totally up to you.

  • Have you been on holiday recently, in a plane or on a long train/car journey?

    Academic text (2012)
  • What's your favorite holiday you've been on together?

  • Maybe it brought back memories of holidays and family gatherings.

  • I mean, you've been married, and I've been on a number of long-haul holidays.

Synonyms

vacation
vsholiday
  • US
∞ 1.0

A period away from work or study for rest and travel

is the same idea of time off used for relaxing or travel
paid vacation
vsholiday
  • US
14 1.7

A time away from work when a person still gets their usual money

can also refer to unpaid time off or school breaks
relaxing vacation
vsholiday
  • US
1 2.1

A holiday for rest and quiet with few planned activities

is broader and includes travel or other kinds of trips

Antonyms

39 1.0

A day when students go to classes

3 1.0

A day when most people go to work, not a weekend or holiday

Compounds

106 1.0

A busy time at the end of the year when people celebrate, travel, and shop

52 1.0

A long break in summer when schools are closed

A public day when most shops and government offices close across the whole country

An activity people do every holiday, often with family or community

5 1.4

A day when offices and shops are closed by law for most people

A day when people of a faith have ceremonies and celebrate

5 1.1

A special food people prepare and eat for a holiday celebration

4 6.8

One of the two most important Jewish holy days, Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur, that Jews observe seriously

3 2.3

A public holiday when banks and many shops and offices close

2 1.9

A place with hotels, pools, and activities where people stay on holiday

A holiday companies promote mainly to sell cards and gifts

1 3.1

Happens before a holiday, often when people prepare

1 4.1

A day when people do not work for half the usual time

legal holiday
  • Formal
1 1.8

A day that the law says people do not work and offices are closed

1 8.4

A time off when you do the same work as your job

1 1.6

A cooked piece of pork people serve at special meals like Christmas or Easter

1 2.7

A holiday sold by a travel company with flights and hotel included

1 3.4

The time just before a holiday when people prepare

A time when you feel low and lose motivation after a holiday ends

post-holiday slump
  • Literature
4.2

A drop in shopping and sales after a major holiday season

How Long

sabbatical
27 6.6
holiday
  • UK
135 1.0
break
∞ 1.0
day out
  • UK
14 1.8

Surface Forms

holiday singular
holidays plural

Morphology

holiday = holy + day (semi-transparent) = holy + day

Formally a compound 'holy' + 'day', but the common sense 'vacation' is an extended, non-religious meaning that learners may not derive directly from the parts.

Etymology

Holiday comes from holy + day, meaning a 'holy day' kept for religion or rest. Over time it came to mean any time away from work to relax or travel, so a holiday is now a vacation.