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

Tickets are also available for Kol Nidre on Sept. 24 and Yom Kippur services and the Break the Fast on Sept. 25. —Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Sep. 2023

When Israel’s intelligence agencies were accused of lapses that led to a surprise attack by Arab forces in the Yom Kippur War of 1973, Mr. Shavit helped coordinate the response of the Mossad’s director at the time to a government inquiry. —Sam Roberts, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2023

In order to be sealed in the Book of Life for the new year, those of Jewish faith must repent and atone for their sins by fasting for roughly 27 hours—a Yom Kippur tradition. —Heather Mayer Irvine, Country Living, 7 Sep. 2023

There’s a powerful and timely political message running through Golda, the new historical drama starring Helen Mirren as Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and that message is this: Smoking kills. —David Klion, The New Republic, 1 Sep. 2023

This Yom Kippur evening service is called Kol Nidrei. —Jamie Kravitz, Woman's Day, 28 Aug. 2023

The vitriol stemmed largely from her administration’s handling of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, a devastating conflict between Israel and a coalition of Arab states that resulted in thousands of deaths. —Jenelle Riley, Variety, 25 Aug. 2023

But if the more troubling aspects of his own legacy are left pointedly off-screen, so is a deeper, longer view of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the hard lessons of the Yom Kippur War and the anguish that Israel would both endure and inflict in the decades to follow. —Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2023

Victory came, but Israelis could neither forgive nor forget the cost of the Yom Kippur War, as the conflict would later be known. —Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Aug. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Hebrew yōm kippūr, literally, day of atonement

First Known Use

1735, in the meaning defined above

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