heyday

interjection hey·day \ ˈhā-ˌdā \

|Updated on: 10 Aug 2018

Examples: heyday in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of heyday

archaic

—used to express elation or wonder

heyday was our Word of the Day on 02/01/2012. Hear the podcast!

Origin and Etymology of heyday

irregular from hey

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1599

in the meaning defined above

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heyday

noun

Definition of heyday

1 archaic : high spirits

2 : the period of one's greatest popularity, vigor, or prosperity

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Examples of heyday in a Sentence

in its heyday, the circus was a major form of entertainment for small-town America

Recent Examples of heyday from the Web

In its heyday, Blockbuster had 15 stores in Alaska, Daymude said.

— rachel d'oro, chicagotribune.com, "Just one Blockbuster left in U.S. as Alaska stores set to close," 13 July 2018
In its heyday, Blockbuster had 15 stores in Alaska, Daymude said.

— Washington Post, "Blockbusters in Alaska set to close; 1 store left in US," 12 July 2018
Right now there are only fathers and sons, and a few daughters, but in its heyday there were mothers and infants.

— christine m. flowers, Philly.com, "As politicians duke it out, we must remember that most children just want to go home | Christine Flowers," 12 July 2018
This was heyday of Paris Hilton, and pre-meltdown Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, whose wild partying was captured by a rabid paparazzi who chastised their behavior while asking for more.

— refinery29.com, "Why Marie Antoinette Is Really Mean Girls, Versailles Edition," 10 July 2018
Kepler, which is currently 94 million miles away from Earth, found many, many exoplanets (planets outside of our solar system) in its heyday.

— jennie neufeld, Vox, "Vox Sentences: Trade war will tariff us apart," 7 July 2018
In its heyday, before the end of Portuguese colonial rule in 1975, the park drew celebrities like John Wayne and Gregory Peck to central Mozambique.

— christopher torchia, The Christian Science Monitor, "Underdogs no more: African wild dogs make comeback in Mozambique," 22 June 2018
Leon White, a legendary professional wrestler who went by the name of Vader in his heyday, died on Monday.

— scott gleeson, Cincinnati.com, "Wrestling legend Big Van Vader has died," 20 June 2018
The New Yorker notes that vichyssoise, in its heyday, was a soup for the stars.

— bethany jean clement, The Seattle Times, "A super-easy chilled soup that’s a hot-day lifesaver: Can you say vichyssoise?," 13 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'heyday.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

In its earliest appearances in English, in the 16th century, "heyday" was used as an interjection that expressed elation or wonder (similar to our word hey, from which it derives). Around the same time, "heyday" saw use as a noun meaning "high spirits." (This sense can be seen in Act III, Scene IV of Hamlet, when the Prince of Denmark tells his mother, "You cannot call it love; for at your age / The heyday in the blood is tame….") It wasn’t until the 18th century that English speakers, perhaps interpreting the "day" of the second syllable to mean "a time or period," began using "heyday" to refer to the period when one’s achievement or popularity has reached its zenith.