I. ˈhäləˌdā, chiefly Brit -_di noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English hāligdæg, from hālig holy + dæg day — more at holy , day
1. : holy day
2.
a. : a day on which one is exempt from one's usual labor or vocational activity
had a holiday on the day the boss's daughter was married
b. : a time of release from work : festivity , celebration — usually used in the phrase to make holiday
the people who are making holiday flock to the beaches
c. chiefly Britain : vacation
everbody is on holiday in August — Joy Packer
went on holiday for two weeks
— often used in plural with the
worried about how to keep the child occupied for the holidays
d. : a period of exemption (as from a tax or from fear)
tax holidays up to ten years — J.P.McEvoy
gave myself a holiday from sad forebodings — Mary B. Chesnut
: a period of relief
a holiday from periodical literature — Aldous Huxley
3.
a. : a day marked by a general cessation from work as an act of public commemoration of some event and often accompanied by public ceremonies and parades — see legal holiday , national holiday
b. : a good time : a festive occasion
massacring soldiers to make a despot's holiday — H.R.G.Greaves
4. : a spot accidentally left uncovered on a coated or painted surface
II. adjective
: of, belonging to, or befitting a holiday : festive , carefree
holiday reading
wearing holiday clothes
a face with a holiday look
holiday atmosphere on the excursion boat
III. intransitive verb
: to take or spend a holiday especially in a journey or at a resort
holidaying in the country