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

Peacock Premium also offers new movies like Marry Me, Halloween Kills and Boss Baby 2 that are released on Peacock at the same time as their theatrical premieres. —Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 14 Feb. 2025

Her world is rocked, however, when she’s brutally attacked by an unseen assailant on Halloween night. —Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 13 Feb. 2025

That's one week after Borderlands 4 and just in time to scare everyone (hopefully) during the all-spooky Halloween season. —Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 13 Feb. 2025

Dead Mail, an acclaimed ’80s Midwest horror thriller from writer-directors Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy, is set to make its exclusive streaming debut on Shudder as part of the streamer’s annual Halfway to Halloween celebration on April 18. —Matt Grobar, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2025

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.