Halloween

noun

Hal·​low·​een ˌha-lə-ˈwēn  ˌhä- 

variants or less commonly Hallowe'en

: October 31 observed especially with dressing up in disguise, trick-or-treating, and displaying jack-o'-lanterns during the evening

Examples of Halloween in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Season 4 debuted on Oct. 17, 2024, and if the next installment follows a similar release, new episodes could arrive in time for things to get spooky before Halloween. —Christopher Rudolph, People.com, 9 May 2025

During the day, Kelce learned that Lowry had dressed up as his brother, Travis, for Halloween last year. —Julio Cesar Valdera Morales, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 May 2025

And a man in a clown suit accused of assault with a beer bottle on Halloween night. —Sam Stanton, Sacbee.com, 8 May 2025

Before parents turned to Amazon for Halloween costumes, and long prior to Etsy storefronts and YouTube tutorials, there were pattern books, fabric swatches and hours spent learning from a parent or grandparent in the aisles of Jo-Ann Fabrics. —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 8 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

short for All Hallow Even (All Saints' Eve)

First Known Use

circa 1700, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Halloween

• acrolein
• adenine
• alkylene
• aniline
• anthracene
• aquiline
• asphaltene
• atlantean
• atrazine
• butadiene
• butylene
• caesarean

Kids Definition

Halloween

noun

Hal·​low·​een ˌhal-ə-ˈwēn  ˌhäl- 

: October 31 celebrated especially by wearing costumes, trick-or-treating, and displaying jack-o'-lanterns

Etymology

an altered form of All Hallow Even, the eve of All Saints' Day

Word Origin

Modern-day Christians know the first of November as All Saints' Day. In the Middle Ages it was called All Hallow Day. This was a hallowed or holy day celebrated in honor of all the saints in heaven. Since November 1 was a special holy day with a special name, the day before it had a special name as well. October 31 was called All Hallow Eve or All Hallow Even. The words eve and even were used both for the evening and the day before a special day. This name was sometimes written All Hallow E'en and later shortened to Halloween.