day-to-day

1 of 2

adjective

ˈdā-tə-ˈdā 

1

: taking place, made, or done in the course of days

in charge of day-to-day operations

also : everyday

day-to-day life

2

: providing for a day at a time with little thought for the future

an aimless day-to-day existence

day-to-day adverb

or day to day

struggling day-to-day [=every day] with depression

living day to day [=one day at a time]

… it's impossible to live with devastation day to day and not look on all the concern over one still-healthy individual as a vulgar spectacle.

—Robert Massa

day-to-day

2 of 2

noun

plural day-to-days

: a usual routine that occurs each day

… a feeling of hope and adventure that many of us lack in our day-to-day.

—Nathan Mattise

But the woman is fearless, living life in a perpetual state of curiosity despite her repetitive day-to-day.

—Alex Suskind

Synonyms of day-to-day

Adjective

• daily

Examples of day-to-day in a Sentence

Adjective

the day-to-day routine of commuting to work

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Strong democracies, by contrast, rely on impersonal institutions that protect state promises from day-to-day political interference and on budgets large enough for these institutions to carry them out. — Matias Spektor, Foreign Affairs, 2 Oct. 2026

Transformation requires skills that are very different from the ones that leaders use in their day-to-day activities. — Tracy Nolan, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026

Noun

Across day-to-day commitments, financial and transfer debts, payments due to players and tax authorities and plenty more besides, the club’s liabilities due to be paid in 2026-27 total €905million, unmoved from a year ago. — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Those communications include ordinary, day-to-day exchanges including emails, texts, phone calls, messages sent through apps, and Zoom or Teams meetings involving participants in multiple states. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 11 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1862, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1965, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for day-to-day

• aaa
• alleyway
• alumnae
• anime
• anyway
• arete
• attache
• axillae
• baa
• beaujolais
• bouvier
• breakaway

Video

Is It 'day today' or 'day-to-day'?

What about Day Tomorrow?

Kids Definition

day-to-day

adjective

ˈdāt-ə-ˌdā

1

: taking place, made, or done in the course of days

day-to-day problems

2

: providing for a day at a time with little thought of the future

a day-to-day existence