October

noun

Oc·​to·​ber äk-ˈtō-bər 

: the 10th month of the Gregorian calendar

Examples of October in a Sentence

She started her job in early October.

He started early in October.

This will be our last October in New England.

Sales are up for this October.

The event happens every October.

Recent Examples on the Web

With the new season set to arrive in October, the comedian will remain busy hosting his actual late-night show until May. —Shania Russell, EW.com, 4 Aug. 2025

But Flint did not switch its water supply back to Detroit until October 2015. —Nicquel Terry Ellis, CNN Money, 3 Aug. 2025

Interest rate decisions from these meetings will be announced on September 17, October 29 and December 10. —Simon Moore, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2025

The height of hurricane season runs from mid-August into October. —Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English Octobre, from Old English & Anglo-French; Old English October, from Latin, 8th month of the early Roman calendar, from octo; Anglo-French, from Latin October

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing October

• October surprise

Rhymes for October

• sober
• tober

Kids Definition

October

noun

Oc·​to·​ber äk-ˈtō-bər 

: the tenth month of the year

Etymology

Middle English October, Octobre "the tenth month," from Old English October and early French octobre (both, same meaning), both from Latin October "the eighth month," from octo "eight"

Word Origin

According to its origin, the name October, which we know as the tenth month of the year, really means "eighth month." In the first calendar used in ancient Rome, the year had only ten months, starting in March and ending in December. The extra period between December and March was not considered part of the series of months. Later, when two extra months were added to the calendar, October became the tenth month but kept its old name. The Latin name came into Old English as october and into early French as octobre. It was spelled both ways in Middle English. But in time the influence of Latin fixed the spelling as october.