Meanings
plural Black Fridays
- Any Friday that is literally or figuratively darkened by catastrophe, or the anniversary thereof.
- Internethistoricalcard gamesThe conclusion of United States v. Scheinberg on April 15, 2011, after which major online poker sites stopped offering real money play to their United States customers.
- CanadaUKUSbusinessThe day after Thanksgiving Day, generally regarded as the first day of the Christmas season, and the busiest shopping day of the year.
- USbroadlyThe sales period involving heavy price reductions immediately following Thanksgiving Day, from Friday (the original Black Friday) through Monday (Cyber Monday).
- Synonym of Friday the thirteenth (“a Friday falling on the 13th day of the month (and therefore doubly ill-omened)”).
Synonyms: Friday the thirteenth
- obsoletepossiblyGood Friday, the Friday before Easter.
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounSynonym of Friday the thirteenth (“a Friday falling on the 13th day of the month (and therefore doubly ill-omened)”).
Origin
From black (“bad; ill-omened; marked by disaster”) + Friday. Friday has long been considered an unlucky day in ancient superstition. When a Friday coincided with another bad omen, such as falling on the 13th, or was marked by a disaster, it came to be called a Black Friday. In Philadelphia, police later used the term to describe the day after Thanksgiving, when heavy shopping crowds caused severe traffic congestion and chaos. Over time, public relations campaigns promoted a more positive, but inaccurate, explanation for the name. This widely circulated false etymology claimed that Black Friday” referred to the point in the year when retailers shifted from operating at a loss (“in the red”) to making a profit (“in the black”). Despite its popularity, this explanation is an urban legend and was even mistakenly included in sources like Wiktionary for several years.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic الْجُمُعَة السَّوْدَاء, الجُمُعَة الْبَيْضَاء
- الْجُمُعَة السَّوْدَاءsales period involving heavy price reductions
- الجُمُعَة الْبَيْضَاءsales period involving heavy price reductions
Catalan divendres negre
- divendres negreday after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
Chinese Cantonese 黑色星期五, 黑色星期五
- 黑色星期五 (hak¹ sik¹ sing¹ kei⁴ ng⁵)day after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
- 黑色星期五 (hak¹ sik¹ sing¹ kei⁴ ng⁵)sales period involving heavy price reductions
Chinese Mandarin 黑色星期五, 黑五
- 黑色星期五 (Hēisè Xīngqīwǔ, Hēisè Xīngqíwǔ)day after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
- 黑五 (Hēiwǔ)day after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
- 黑色星期五 (Hēisè Xīngqīwǔ, Hēisè Xīngqíwǔ)sales period involving heavy price reductions
- 黑五 (Hēiwǔ)sales period involving heavy price reductions
Esperanto nigra vendredo
- nigra vendredosales period involving heavy price reductions
French vendredi fou, vendredi noir
- vendredi fouday after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
- vendredi noirday after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
- Black Fridayday after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
- vendredi fousales period involving heavy price reductions
German Black Friday, Schlussverkauf
- Black Fridayday after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
- Schlussverkaufsales period involving heavy price reductions
Hindi ब्लैक फ़्राइडे, काला शुक्रवार
- ब्लैक फ़्राइडे (blaik frāiḍe)day after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
- काला शुक्रवार (kālā śukravār)day after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
Hungarian fekete péntek
- fekete péntekday after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
Japanese ブラックフライデー, ブラックフライデー
- ブラックフライデー (burakkufuraidē)day after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
- ブラックフライデー (burakkufuraidē)sales period involving heavy price reductions
Korean 블랙 프라이데이, 블랙 프라이데이
- 블랙 프라이데이 (beullaek peuraidei)day after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
- 블랙 프라이데이 (beullaek peuraidei)sales period involving heavy price reductions
Polish czarny piątek, czarny piątek
- czarny piątekday after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
- czarny piąteksales period involving heavy price reductions
Portuguese Black Friday, Sexta-Feira Negra
- Black Fridayday after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
- Sexta-Feira Negraday after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
- Black Fridaysales period involving heavy price reductions
Romanian Vinerea Neagră, Black Friday
- Vinerea Neagrăday after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
- Black Fridayday after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
Spanish viernes negro, Black Friday
- viernes negroday after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
- Black Fridayday after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
- liquidacionessales period involving heavy price reductions
Ukrainian Чорна п'ятниця
- Чорна п'ятниця (Čorna pʺjatnycja)day after U.S. Thanksgiving Day
Cite this entry
Black Friday. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Black%20Friday
“Black Friday.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Black%20Friday. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Black Friday,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Black%20Friday.
Source: Black Friday on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.