vacation

1 of 2

noun

va·​ca·​tion vā-ˈkā-shən 

və-

often attributive

1

: a period spent away from home or business in travel or recreation

had a restful vacation at the beach

2

a

: a scheduled period during which activity (as of a court or school) is suspended

b

: a period of exemption from work granted to an employee

3

: a respite or a time of respite from something : intermission

4

: an act or an instance of vacating

vacation

2 of 2

verb

vacationed; vacationing vā-ˈkā-sh(ə-)niŋ 

və-

intransitive verb

: to take or spend a vacation

vacationed at the shore

vacationer

vā-ˈkā-sh(ə-)nər 

və-

noun

Synonyms of vacation

Noun

• holiday
• leave
• break

Verb

• holiday

Examples of vacation in a Sentence

Noun

Family vacations were a high point in my childhood.

When are you taking vacation this year?

Employees are entitled to 120 hours of paid vacation.

I don't have any vacation days left.

We have a one-week vacation in February.

The university will be closed for Christmas vacation.

Verb

hoping to vacation in Spain this summer

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The trickiest category might be novelty items, such as the SpongeBob disposable camera one family had used to document a vacation. —Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026

Tyler Mikorski was about to board a flight to go on vacation with his girlfriend and her family on March 1 when police slapped cuffs on him. —Jason Abbruzzese, NBC news, 19 Apr. 2026

Verb

The following year, there were rumors of a relationship between him and his Euphoria costar, Zendaya, after the pair were spotted vacationing together in Greece. —Katie Mannion, PEOPLE, 19 Apr. 2026

Generations of families have vacationed here or have been members. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English vacacioun, borrowed from Anglo-French vacacion, borrowed from Latin vacātiōn-, vacātiō "exemption from service, respite from work," from vacāre "to be empty, be free, have leisure" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns — more at vacant

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Verb

1883, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing vacation

• long vacation
• vacation home

Rhymes for vacation

• ablation
• bination
• carnation
• cassation
• castration
• causation
• centration
• cessation
• cetacean
• chelation
• citation
• collation

Kids Definition

vacation

1 of 2 noun

va·​ca·​tion vā-ˈkā-shən 

və-

1

: a period during which activity (as of a school) is stopped for a time

2

: a period spent away from home or business in travel or amusement

vacation

2 of 2 verb

vacationed; vacationing

-sh(ə-)niŋ

: to take or spend a vacation

vacationer

-sh(ə-)nər 

noun

Legal Definition

vacation

noun

va·​ca·​tion

1

: a period in which activity or work is suspended

specifically : an interval between judicial terms

2

: an act or instance of vacating

vacation of a judgment