SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

bank holiday

noun

Definition of bank holiday

1 British : legal holiday
2 : a period when banks in general are closed often by government fiat

See bank holiday defined for English-language learners

First Known Use of bank holiday

1778

Learn More about bank holiday

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

WORD OF THE DAY

tristful

play

sad or melancholy

Words at Play

alt-5949565fc7d94

'Negging' Moves Beyond The Bar

Not just for pick-up artists anymore

alt-5947fc40f1b5c

In Tech, What Does 'K' Mean?

A buzzword with a long history.

alt-5951697e1a410

When To Use 'Specious' vs. 'Spurious'

These similar words are not interchangeable

alt-594bf2ec5f26e

Quick: Read This!

'Quick' once had a very different meaning

Ask the Editors

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

Language changes

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

True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz

Bee Cubed

Listen to the words and spell through all three levels.

Play the game