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summer holiday

summer holiday

5 1.0
A long break in summer when schools are closed
  • noun
  • /ˈsʌmər ˈhɑːləˌdeɪ/
  • UK
translation icon : vacaciones de verano
  • Many children enjoy playing sports and going on adventures during their summer holidays.
  • go on summer holiday
  • long summer holiday
  • spend my summer holidays

It smells like the sun cream that you used as a kid on all your summer holidays.

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Examples

  • Her father's private income enabled them to live in this grand style and to take summer holidays in Nova Scotia.

    Academic text (1996)
  • During their summer holiday, the family traveled to the beach for a week of sun and fun.

  • Yeah, they say the summer is the perfect time for a summer holiday.

  • How were your summer holidays?

  • The two older sisters had talked through the two weeks of their summer holiday at the beach.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Eleanor was looking to book her summer holiday.

    Academic text (2018)
  • Consider your child's summer holidays as a good opportunity for him to try a new sport.

    Blog text (31)
  • Keeping our children busy and happy during the summer holidays is a full-on task.

    Blog text (2)
  • And finally, the six week long summer holiday always widens the attainment gap and this year that will be exacerbated by the time already spent out of school.

  • After finishing school, I always looked forward to my summer holiday with my friends at the lake.

Synonyms

vacation
vssummer holiday
  • US
1.0

A period away from work or study for rest and travel

is the same idea but tied to the warm months and school break
holiday
vssummer holiday
  • UK
627 1.0

A period of time away from work or school for rest and travel

is taken specifically in the warm months and often during school closure
vacay
vssummer holiday
  • Informal
5 9.1

A short time away from work to rest or travel

is the neutral or standard expression used for the seasonal school break
summer getaway
vssummer holiday
1 2.6

A short trip in summer to relax, for example at the beach

is a longer seasonal break during school closure in the warm months

Antonyms

10 1.0

A holiday when schools and universities close for winter

How Relaxing

vacation
  • US
1.0
summer holiday
  • UK
5 1.0
day out
  • UK
21 1.8

Surface Forms

Morphology

summer + holiday

The meaning 'a holiday taken during the summer' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'summer' (a season) with 'holiday' (time off), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the phrase. This simple noun-noun composition follows regular English compounding patterns and is cross-linguistically common (e.g. Spanish 'vacaciones de verano'), making it immediately predictable.

Etymology

Summer holiday comes from putting together summer, the warm season, and holiday, a time off from school or work, creating the image of children being free and families going to the beach. So it means 'a holiday or vacation taken during the summer', often when schools are closed.