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In its earliest appearances in English, in the 16th century, heyday was used as an interjection that expressed elation or wonder (similar to our word hey, from which it derives). Within a few decades, heyday was seeing use as a noun meaning "high spirits." This sense can be seen in Act III, scene 4 of Hamlet, when the Prince of Denmark tells his mother, "You cannot call it love; for at your age / The heyday in the blood is tame…." The word's second syllable is not thought to be borne of the modern word day (or any of its ancestors), but in the 18th century the syllable's resemblance to that word likely influenced the development of the now-familiar use referring to the period when one's achievement or popularity has reached its zenith.
Examples of heyday in a Sentence
Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 12 Sep. 2025
The film directed by Ally Pankiw and inspired by a 2019 Vanity Fair oral history of the festival will contain interviews with a number of the acts who performed on Lilith in its heyday, including Raitt, Badu, Cole, Jewel, Phair, Mya, Indigo Girls, Harris and more.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 12 Sep. 2025
In its heyday, the series was forced to contend with photographers trespassing on the set, hiding in bushes and trees in hopes of capturing major spoilers.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
But household name or not, his was one heck of a heyday.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 9 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Heyday.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heyday. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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