Black Friday

noun

: the Friday immediately following Thanksgiving Day that is considered by retailers to mark the beginning of the holiday shopping season

Note: The origin of Black Friday in this sense is not known for certain. The day was allegedly so named either in reference to traffic congestion in central cities on the day after Thanksgiving or to the supposed fact that retailers' accounts shifted from red to black with the beginning of the shopping season.

Examples of Black Friday in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Amazon Prime members not only have exclusive entry to fast, free shipping and early access to major sales like Prime Day and Black Friday, but subscribers also get the best deals at Amazon throughout the entire year. —

Alexandra Domrongchai, Travel + Leisure, 13 Apr. 2024 The road to the massacre began on Black Friday, when the Crumbleys bought their 15-year-old son, Ethan, a 9mm handgun as an early Christmas present. —

Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024 In particular, the testimony showed James purchased the firearm for his son on Black Friday, four days before the shooting. —

Ray Sanchez, CNN, 9 Apr. 2024 Instead of getting help for a troubled son, prosecutors argue, James Crumbley took him on Black Friday 2021 to buy a 9mm handgun the teen had been asking for. —

Detroit Free Press, 8 Apr. 2024 So there were a lot of sales like this, like a Black Friday sale, a new customer sale, things like this throughout the time that TikTok Shop has been a platform in the US for about six months. —

Lauren Goode Michael Calore, WIRED, 4 Apr. 2024 According to trial testimony, on Black Friday in 2021, James Crumbley and his son went to an Oxford gun shop and purchased a 9mm Sig Sauer handgun that the boy had long begged for, according to the teen's journal. —

Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, 4 Apr. 2024 The website notes the Christian holiday is also known as Black Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday and Holy Friday. —

Jason Rossi, The Enquirer, 29 Mar. 2024 Brooklinen offered one of the best deals during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and now the cult-favorite bedding brand will kick off a second (and third) round of deals to kick off spring. —

Anna Tingley, Variety, 26 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Black Friday.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.