Meanings
alternative π Day
- March 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi).
Of all known mathematical constants, however, pi continues to attract the most attention. […] The Exploratorium in San Francisco continues to celebrate Pi Day on March 14 each year, starting at 1:59 pm.
2002, Ivan Peterson, “A Passion for Pi”, in Mathematical Treks: From Surreal Numbers to Magic Circles (Spectrum Series; a Science News Book), [Washington, D.C.]: Mathematical Association of America, →ISBN, page 175 more examples
Did you know that March 14 is Pi Day (no, π is not misspelled). Pi Day is celebrated on 3/14 or 3.14! To commemorate this remarkable ratio, we have a few circular activities. The first is the Pizza Survey. What are the students' favorite toppings on pizza? What do you like best?
1997, Louise Bock, Susan Guengerich, Hope Martin, “March Celebrations”, in Multicultural Math Fun: Holidays around the Year, Portland, Me.: J. Weston Walch Publisher, →ISBN, page 83As Quakers, we do not as a matter of religion celebrate any holidays (more accurately, all days are to be considered holidays because they have equal potential for revealing the Divine to us), but as a cultural matter we celebrate all kinds: Hindu, Christian, Jewish, ethnic, birthdays of famous composers, artists, writers, and scientists, π Day (March 14th – we bake several pies and divide them into fractions before eating), even some we just make up ourselves.
1999, David H. Albert, “Exits and Entrances”, in And the Skylark Sings with Me: Adventures in Homeschooling and Community-based Education, Gabriola Island, B.C.: New Society Publishers in cooperation with Holt Associates/Growing Without Schooling, →ISBN, page 128Whereas Pi can be approximated as 3.14, and thus March 14, 2009, is an appropriate day for "National Pi Day": Now, therefore, be it / Resolved, That the [United States] House of Representatives— / (1) supports the designation of a "Pi Day" and its celebration around the world; […]
2009 March 12, H. Res. 224 Supporting the Designation of Pi Day, and for Other Purposes, [Washington, D.C.]: United States Government Publishing Office, archived from the original on 28 Dec 2016, page 2Likewise, March 14 in North America has been π Day, since in the USA the month is written before the day ('314'). In schools throughout North America, it has become a reason for mathematical projects, especially focussing on π.
2012 June 19, Jonathan M[ichael] Borwein, “The Life of Pi: From Archimedes to Eniac and Beyond”, in David H[arold] Bailey, Jonathan M. Borwein, Pi: The Next Generation: A Sourcebook on the Recent History of Pi and Its Computation, Switzerland: Springer Nature, published 2016, →DOI, →ISBN, page 446March 14, or 3/14, is recognized by math geeks as Pi day. That happens every year. But as UBS’s Art Cashin notes, next year’s Pi day will be a once-in-a-century Pi day. “At 9:26:53 a.m., they can write 3/14/15; 9:26:53, which you should also recall are the first ten digits of Pi in perfect order,” said Cashin.
2015 March 14, Sam Ro, “March 14, 2015 will be a once-in-a-century thrill for math geeks”, in Business Insider, archived from the original on 04 Mar 2016
Origin
pi + day, from the date March 14th in the month/day format (that is, 3/14), 3, 1 and 4 being the first three significant digits of the mathematical constant π.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic يوم ط
- يوم طMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Bengali পাই দিবস
- পাই দিবস (pai diboś)March 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Bulgarian Денят Пи
- Денят Пи (Denjat Pi)March 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Catalan Dia Pi
- Dia PiMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Chinese Cantonese 圓周率日 /圆周率日
- 圓周率日 /圆周率日 (jyun⁴ zau¹ leot² jat⁶)March 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Chinese Mandarin 圓周率日 /圆周率日
- 圓周率日 /圆周率日 (Yuánzhōulǜrì)March 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Czech Den pí
- Den píMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Danish Pi-dag
- Pi-dagMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Dutch pi-dag, pi-benaderingsdag
- pi-dagMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
- pi-benaderingsdagMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Esperanto Pi-tago
- Pi-tagoMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Estonian Pii päev
- Pii päevMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Finnish piin päivä
- piin päiväMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
French journée de pi
- journée de piMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
German Pi-Tag
- Pi-TagMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Hebrew יום פאי
- יום פאיMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Hungarian nemzetközi π-nap
- nemzetközi π-napMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Icelandic π dagur, Nálgunardagur π
- π dagurMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
- Nálgunardagur πMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Indonesian Hari Pi
- Hari PiMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Italian Giorno del pi greco
- Giorno del pi grecoMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Japanese 円周率の日
- 円周率の日 (enshūritsu no hi)March 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Korean 파이의 날
- 파이의 날 (paiui nal)March 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Lithuanian Pi diena
- Pi dienaMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Persian روز پی
- روز پیMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Polish Dzień Liczby Pi
- Dzień Liczby PiMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Portuguese Dia do Pi
- Dia do PiMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Romanian Ziua pi
- Ziua piMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Russian День числа пи
- День числа пи (Denʹ čisla pi)March 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Slovak Deň pí
- Deň píMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Spanish Día de Pi
- Día de PiMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Swahili Siku ya Pi
- Siku ya PiMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Swedish Pi-dagen
- Pi-dagenMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Tamil பை நாள்
- பை நாள் (pai nāḷ)March 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Thai วันพาย
- วันพายMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Turkish Pi Günü
- Pi GünüMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Ukrainian День пі
- День пі (Denʹ pi)March 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Vietnamese Ngày số pi
- Ngày số piMarch 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi)
Cite this entry
Pi Day. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pi%20Day
“Pi Day.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pi%20Day. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Pi Day,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pi%20Day.
Source: Pi Day on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.