October

noun

Oc·​to·​ber äk-ˈtō-bər 

: the 10th month of the Gregorian calendar

Examples of October in a Sentence

She started her job in early October.

He started early in October.

This will be our last October in New England.

Sales are up for this October.

The event happens every October.

Recent Examples on the Web

This display error occurred over four and a half months from October 24, 2023 to March 14th, 2024, when it was corrected by DV. —Todd Spangler, Variety, 15 Apr. 2024

And last October, music publishers Universal, Concord, and ABKCO filed a copyright-infringement lawsuit against AI company Anthropic, setting a precedent for how the industry infrastructure will deal with AI services. —Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2024

That was not the first time the US had asked China to influence Iran since the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas broke out last October. —Nectar Gan, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024

Will the bottom of their lineup vanish again in October? —Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2024

Such a plan must ensure a Palestinian state isn’t perceived as the direct reward for the October 7th massacre and the Iranian attack on Israel. —Gadi Ezra, TIME, 15 Apr. 2024

The Tortured Poets Department will be Swift’s first album of new material since October 2022’s Midnights, which won album of the year and best pop vocal album at the 2024 Grammys. —Rania Aniftos, Billboard, 15 Apr. 2024

The global benchmark Brent crude oil rose to the highest price it's been since October, $92.18 per barrel, on Friday helped in part by widespread concern of an Iranian attack. —Kira Caspers, The Arizona Republic, 15 Apr. 2024

In October, the City Council unanimously approved a $1 million plan to build a temporary fire station on the Public Services Division Operations Yard at 9534 Via Zapador. —Lauren J. Mapp, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English Octobre, from Old English & Anglo-French; Old English October, from Latin, 8th month of the early Roman calendar, from octo; Anglo-French, from Latin October

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing October

• October surprise

Kids Definition

October

noun

Oc·​to·​ber äk-ˈtō-bər 

: the tenth month of the year

Etymology

Middle English October, Octobre "the tenth month," from Old English October and early French octobre (both, same meaning), both from Latin October "the eighth month," from octo "eight"

Word Origin

According to its origin, the name October, which we know as the tenth month of the year, really means "eighth month." In the first calendar used in ancient Rome, the year had only ten months, starting in March and ending in December. The extra period between December and March was not considered part of the series of months. Later, when two extra months were added to the calendar, October became the tenth month but kept its old name. The Latin name came into Old English as october and into early French as octobre. It was spelled both ways in Middle English. But in time the influence of Latin fixed the spelling as october.