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New Year

New Year

76 1.0
The time at the start of a calendar year
  • noun
  • /nuː jɪr/
translation icon : año nuevo
  • As the clock struck midnight, we celebrated the arrival of the New Year together.
  • the beginning of the New Year
  • New Year begins

Well, happy new year guys, that's what I'm saying.

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Examples

  • I want you to have a happy New Year.

  • Happy New Year to you all!

  • Yeah, Happy New Year from our home to you.

  • If not, it's almost a new year, new start, new you.

  • Happy New Year to us both.

  • Let's go bring in the New Year.

  • I'll do that on the first day of business of the New Year.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • I hope that the New Year brings everyone peace, good spirits, and prosperity.

    Academic text (2009)
  • On the second day of the New Year, he suffered a severe attack of melancholy.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The fireworks to celebrate the New Year lasted from midnight until nearly one o'clock.

    Fiction book (1991)

Synonyms

this year
vsNew Year
1.0

The current calendar year from January 1 to December 31

is the same period specifically at its very beginning
calendar year
vsNew Year
16 1.0

A period of twelve months that starts on January 1 and ends on December 31

is that span only when it has just started

Surface Forms

New Year singular
New Years plural

Morphology

new + year

The meaning 'the calendar year that has just started' is directly and compositionally derived from combining 'new' (recent) with 'year' (twelve-month period), so a learner who knows both words can infer the MWE meaning. This simple adjective+noun pattern is cross-linguistically common and used transparently in greetings like 'Happy New Year,' making it readily understandable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

New Year joins new and year and comes from the simple idea of a fresh calendar cycle starting after the old one ends. Long ago people marked this moment with parties and promises to change, so New Year now means 'the calendar year that has just started' and a time for new plans.