Halloween

noun

Hal·​low·​een ˌha-lə-ˈwēn  ˌhä- 

variants or less commonly Hallowe'en

: October 31 observed especially with dressing up in disguise, trick-or-treating, and displaying jack-o'-lanterns during the evening

Examples of Halloween in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale take their kids trick-or-treating For Halloween 2019, the couple took their sons Rocco and Rafa trick-or-treating around their Brooklyn neighborhood. —Emma Kershaw, Peoplemag, 16 May 2024

Decorate these personal-sized cakes with your favorite Halloween candy or sprinkles for some extra holiday flair. —Mary Alice Russell, Southern Living, 16 May 2024

Bodkin is a strange place, caught between old traditions (everyone keeps talking about the ways that Samhain inspired the most famous rituals of Halloween) and the modern world (a wealthy Bodkin native has returned from Silicon Valley to build an enormous server farm on the town’s outskirts). —Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2024

During the morning of Halloween that year, Brown arrived at the woman’s workplace and was told to leave by Woodkins, who was her friend. —Fox19, The Enquirer, 9 May 2024

This ultra-festive touch will dress up any Halloween drink. —Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 May 2024

Worlds away from the actors in quaint Halloween monkey masks in the original 1968 film with Charlton Heston, the apes here have expressive features and extraordinarily lifelike movement. —David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 May 2024

In the Friday the 13th movies and in Halloween, the constant is Jason. —Samantha Highfill, EW.com, 8 May 2024

In New York City, a client asked for a Halloween costume, and Cristante sent vampire outfits with detachable capes and bat wings. —Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 4 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

short for All Hallow Even (All Saints' Eve)

First Known Use

circa 1700, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

Halloween

noun

Hal·​low·​een ˌhal-ə-ˈwēn  ˌhäl- 

: October 31 celebrated especially by wearing costumes, trick-or-treating, and displaying jack-o'-lanterns

Etymology

an altered form of All Hallow Even, the eve of All Saints' Day

Word Origin

Modern-day Christians know the first of November as All Saints' Day. In the Middle Ages it was called All Hallow Day. This was a hallowed or holy day celebrated in honor of all the saints in heaven. Since November 1 was a special holy day with a special name, the day before it had a special name as well. October 31 was called All Hallow Eve or All Hallow Even. The words eve and even were used both for the evening and the day before a special day. This name was sometimes written All Hallow E'en and later shortened to Halloween.