Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

bank holiday

noun

Definition of bank holiday

  1. 1 British :  legal holiday

  2. 2 :  a period when banks in general are closed often by government fiat

See bank holiday defined for English-language learners

From the M-W Editors

decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?
istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
June 2017 Words of the Day Quiz
alt-594ab41a604d2
Trending: Kim and Kanye Might Have Hired a Surrogate Mother
image2144101468
Better Ways to Say "This Sucks"

1778

First Known Use of bank holiday

1778

Learn More about bank holiday

  1. See words that rhyme with bank holiday Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about bank holiday

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up bank holiday? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

bilious

play

of or relating to bile

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. surrogate mother From TMZ to the dictionary.

  2. zealot A fanatical partisan

  3. stonewall to be uncooperative, obstructive, or evasive

  4. scurrilous Containing obscenities, abuse, or slander

  5. depose That word might not mean what you think it means.

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

image2144101468
That Sucks Word Alternatives

Your day is the worst. Your vocabulary is the best.

alt-5931949575ca5
'All the Feels,' All the Time

Once more, with 'feels'

alt-59480e09b8844
A Pineapple Is An Apple (Kind Of)

Pineapple once had a different, more internationally common name.

alt-594938b88b98e
Read This to Get 'Smart'

A thinking person's guide

Ask the Editors

decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Language changes

serial-comma
The Serial Comma

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
June 2017 Words of the Day Quiz

Summer's first WOTD quiz.

Take the quiz
alt-5941ad7527c3c
Yearbook Superlatives Quiz

Is that your picture under "Largest Vocabulary"?

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
Word Winder's CrossWinder
Word Winder's CrossWinder

A game of winding words.

Play the game