Black Friday

noun

: the Friday immediately following Thanksgiving Day that is considered by retailers to mark the beginning of the holiday shopping season

Note: The origin of Black Friday in this sense is not known for certain. The day was allegedly so named either in reference to traffic congestion in central cities on the day after Thanksgiving or to the supposed fact that retailers' accounts shifted from red to black with the beginning of the shopping season.

Examples of Black Friday in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web This fall, Prime Video will also exclusively air the inaugural Black Friday NFL game. —

Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 14 Sep. 2023 Keep in mind that Black Friday and Cyber Monday will be a little more than a month away from this Prime Big Deals Days event, and there's potential for even bigger sales from a variety of retailers. —

Martin Cizmar, WIRED, 8 Sep. 2023 This season will also feature a few firsts: NFL Sunday Ticket offered on YouTube; a streaming-only playoff game on Peacock; and Amazon Prime Video’s Black Friday game. —

Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN, 7 Sep. 2023 From Ross and Rachel's first fight to the laugh-out-loud episode full of the gang's worst Thanksgiving memories, the nostalgia is ideal for that sleepy time between feasting and Black Friday shopping. —

House Beautiful, 7 Sep. 2023 Last year, nearly every major retailer and luggage brand participated in Black Friday and Cyber Monday. —

Tatjana Freund, Town & Country, 7 Sep. 2023 Last year, Amazon offered the Early Access Sale—a second chance for shoppers to take advantage of Prime Day–like savings well before Black Friday—for the first time. —

Madison Flager, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Sep. 2023 Like last year, the mega-retailer will be holding a markdown event this October that rivals Amazon Prime Day; think of it like an early Black Friday. —

Jake Smith, Glamour, 6 Sep. 2023 Historically, Black Friday has been the go-to sale for tech like TVs, headphones, and Apple products. —

Stephanie Osmanski, Southern Living, 1 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Black Friday.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.