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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). Within a few decades, heyday was seeing use as a noun meaning "high spirits." This sense can be seen in Act III, scene 4 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…." The word's second syllable is not thought to be borne of the modern word day (or any of its ancestors), but in the 18th century the syllable's resemblance to that word likely influenced the development of the now-familiar use referring to the period when one's achievement or popularity has reached its zenith.
Examples of heyday in a Sentence
Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2025
Killian’s was very popular in its heyday of the 1990’s and is still available today (although ironically not sold in Ireland).
—Em Sauter, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025
For starters, there is much less agreement about the Trump Administration’s agenda than there was about Communism in its heyday.
—Beverly Gage, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
Built in 1917 as a grand hostelry that drew a who’s-who list of visitors in its heyday, it was scheduled for renovation after sitting empty for 15 years.
—Denise Crosby, Chicago Tribune, 9 Mar. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Heyday.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heyday. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.
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