Yom Kippur

noun

Yom Kip·​pur ˌyōm-ki-ˈpu̇r 

ˌyȯm-, 

ˌyäm- 

-ˈki-pər, 

-(ˌ)pu̇r

: a Jewish holiday observed with fasting and prayer on the 10th day of Tishri in accordance with the rites described in Leviticus 16

called also Day of Atonement

Examples of Yom Kippur in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Israel’s 1973 Yom Kippur War, for instance, produced the Second Offset insights about deploying precision munitions. —Ben Smith, semafor.com, 23 Mar. 2026

For example, Jewish women are excused from requirements such as fasting on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, in order to prevent any potential harm to themselves or their fetus. —Cara Berg Raunick, Chicago Tribune, 21 Mar. 2026

The 1973 oil embargo, triggered after the Yom Kippur War, pushed the US economy into recession and helped squeeze studio budgets that were already under strain. —Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 19 Mar. 2026

And an assailant drove a car into people outside an Orthodox synagogue in Manchester, England, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. —Arkansas Online, 13 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Hebrew yōm kippūr, literally, day of atonement

First Known Use

1735, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Yom Kippur

• chipper
• clipper
• dipper
• flipper
• gripper
• kipper
• nipper
• ripper
• shipper
• skipper
• slipper
• stripper

Kids Definition

Yom Kippur

noun

Yom Kip·​pur ˌyōm-ki-ˈpu̇r  ˌyȯm- 

ˌyäm-, 

-ˈkip-ər

: a Jewish holiday observed in September or October with fasting and prayer as ways of making up for sins