Thursday

noun

Thurs·​day ˈthərz-(ˌ)dā  -dē 

: the fifth day of the week

Thursdays

ˈthərz-(ˌ)dāz  -dēz 

adverb

Examples of Thursday in a Sentence

He was late last Thursday.

We went on Thursday and returned on Saturday.

Recent Examples on the Web

Outside of Wall Street, stock indexes fell sharply in Europe following their wipeouts on Thursday. —Arkansas Online, 21 Mar. 2026

That, plus an extra day to recover from their European exertions, with Forest also going to extra time and penalties in Denmark on Thursday, leads me to switch to a home win. —Oliver Kay, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2026

The Fighting Illini are dreaming of a trip to the Sweet 16 after a dominating win Thursday night against Penn. —Ryan Baker, CBS News, 21 Mar. 2026

Burleson defeated beat Fort Worth South Hills 5-0 on Thursday. —Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English thursdæg, from Old Norse thōrsdagr; akin to Old English thunresdæg Thursday, Old Norse Thōrr Thor, Old English thunor thunder — more at thunder entry 1

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing Thursday

• Holy Thursday
• Maundy Thursday

Rhymes for Thursday

• airway
• allay
• archway
• array
• ashtray
• astray
• aue
• away
• ballet
• belay
• beltway
• beret

Kids Definition

Thursday

noun

Thurs·​day ˈthərz-dē 

: the fifth day of the week

Etymology

Old English thursdæg, from early Norse thōrsdagr, literally "day of Thor"

Word Origin

Among the many gods worshiped by the Germanic people who lived in northern Europe in ancient times was one whose name was Thor. Thor was the god of thunder, weather, and crops. In the early Norse language, the fifth day of the week was known as thōrsdagr, literally "day of Thor," in his honor. The Norse name came into Old English as thursdæg, which in time became the Modern English Thursday.