Memorial Day

Meanings

proper noun

USA federal holiday honoring fallen soldiers, sailors, and other servicemen observed on the last Monday in May.
Memorial Day weekend is among the busiest for travel in the United States and the unofficial start of summer; a day for cookouts, beach trips and auto races. But how did Memorial Day, held on the last Monday of May in honor of America’s war dead, begin?
2024 May 25, Livia Albeck-Ripka, “The Tangled Roots of Memorial Day and Why It’s Celebrated”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Synonyms: Decoration Day
NewfoundlandA provincial holiday held in July 1 in Newfoundland and Labrador commemorating the fallen members of the Newfoundland Regiment during the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel in World War I.
uncommonSynonym of Tomb Sweeping Day, a Chinese holiday.
Synonyms: Tomb Sweeping Day

proper nounA federal holiday honoring fallen soldiers, sailors, and other servicemen observed on the last Monday in May.

Similar

proper nounSynonym of Tomb Sweeping Day, a Chinese holiday.

Similar

nounlegal holiday in the United States, last Monday in May; commemorates the members of the United States armed forces who were killed in war

Similar

Broader

Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Chinese Mandarin 亡兵紀念日 /亡兵纪念日

Esperanto Tago de la Falintoj

Japanese 戦没将兵追悼記念日, メモリアルデー

Russian День па́мяти

Spanish Día de los caídos

Vietnamese Lễ Chiến sĩ trận vong

Cite this entry

APA

Memorial Day. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Memorial%20Day

MLA

“Memorial Day.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Memorial%20Day. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Memorial Day,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Memorial%20Day.