day-to-day

1 of 2

adjective

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

Examples of day-to-day in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The brother’s ran day-to-day operations, from brewing beer to getting it into customer’s hands. Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Apr. 2024 Think of selections that will improve your mom's day-to-day life. Nora Colomer, Fox News, 19 Apr. 2024 Berk was fired and Skoll returned to run day-to-day operations, opting to use a small office between King and Weyermann, versus Berk’s old digs. Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Apr. 2024 Currently, the city’s general fund budget — the spending plan that covers day-to-day city expenses — is forecasted to have $107.5 million in revenue and $100.2 million in expenditures in the next fiscal year. Barbara Henry, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Apr. 2024 Like no one before, she's turned her spotlit day-to-day into a conceptual project commenting on women's freedom, artistic ambition and the place of the personal in the public sphere. Ann Powers, NPR, 19 Apr. 2024 Trivial, day-to-day tasks like walking the roughly 30 steps from his bed to the bathroom, or even speaking, leave the 47-year-old out of breath. The Indianapolis Star, 18 Apr. 2024 How has that affected your day-to-day relationship with him? Craig Mish, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2024 Useful in some cases, that level of protection is simply unnecessary for most day-to-day use items. Chris Gallagher, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
Noun
The actress is all about staying active in her day-to-day life, and likes to get some of that movement in while gardening. Jacqueline Tempera, Women's Health, 21 Mar. 2023 Unique Coach CitySole technology optimizes comfort and flexibility within these shoes, and the low-top design is both stylish yet wearable for whatever your vacation or day-to-day life may have in store. Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 21 Mar. 2023 Defenseman Cale Makar is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, though it's not considered serious. Mike Brehm, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2023 The answer can be found in monotasking and embracing gratitude in our day-to-day lives. Chris Schembra, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2023 Your holiday ensembles can look a bit different than your day-to-day uniform, especially in the spring and summer time, when playful dressing is at an all-time high. Rachel Besser, Vogue, 20 Mar. 2023 Tallulah Stallvik, a junior at The Cambridge School of Weston, used poetry to look at the little things affecting their day-to-day life. Abigail Lee, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Mar. 2023 In 2021, New City America took over day-to-day management of the avenue on behalf of the Association, formerly Third Avenue Village. Tammy Murga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Mar. 2023 In all likelihood, only someone stuck in such day-to-day drudgery would refrain from asking too many questions when she’s offered what appears to be, if not a dream job, a safe refuge. Joe Leydon, Variety, 19 Mar. 2023

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

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1862, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1965, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of day-to-day was in 1862

Dictionary Entries Near day-to-day

Cite this Entry

“Day-to-day.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/day-to-day. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.

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
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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