Memorial Day

noun

1

: May 30 formerly observed as a legal holiday in most states of the U.S. in remembrance of war dead

2

: the last Monday in May observed as a legal holiday in most states of the U.S.

3

: confederate memorial day

Examples of Memorial Day in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Johnson, for his part, has laid out an aggressive schedule to pass Trump’s agenda by Easter, with a final bill on the president’s desk by Memorial Day. —David Sivak, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Jan. 2025

Other federal holidays include: New Year's Day Presidents' Day Memorial Day Juneteenth July 4th Labor Day Columbus Day/Italian Heritage Day/Indigenous People's Day Veterans Day Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day History of MLK Jr. —David Faris, Newsweek, 19 Jan. 2025

Joseph Cassilly’s reputation was tarnished, however, two years after his retirement when he was disbarred by Maryland’s highest court for withholding evidence and lying about it over the years in a case known as the Memorial Day Murders, a 1981 double killing in Abingdon. —Jonathan M. Pitts, Baltimore Sun, 18 Jan. 2025

Single-day tickets for the festival — which is set for Memorial Day weekend at the Napa Valley Expo in downtown Napa — start at $233 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Jan. 16, bottlerocknapavalley.com. —Jim Harrington, The Mercury News, 15 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1868, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

Memorial Day

noun

1

: May 30 once observed as a legal holiday in honor of those who died in war

2

: the last Monday in May observed as a legal holiday in most states of the U.S.