vacation

[ vey-key-shuhn, vuh- ]
See synonyms for vacation on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday: Schoolchildren are on vacation now.

  2. a part of the year, regularly set aside, when normal activities of law courts, legislatures, etc., are suspended.

  1. freedom or release from duty, business, or activity.

  2. an act or instance of vacating.

verb (used without object)
  1. to take or have a vacation: to vacation in the Caribbean.

Origin of vacation

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; from Latin vacātiōn-, stem of vacātiō “freedom from something”; equivalent to vacate + -ion; replacing Middle English vacacioun, from Anglo-French

Other words from vacation

  • va·ca·tion·er, va·ca·tion·ist, noun
  • va·ca·tion·less, adjective
  • min·i·va·ca·tion, noun
  • pre·va·ca·tion, noun, adjective

Words that may be confused with vacation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use vacation in a sentence

  • That they had come to her meetings in large numbers while vacationing in Saratoga Springs, this was important.

    Susan B. Anthony | Alma Lutz
  • Amy said that Jessie kept them so hard at work that it did not seem at all as though they were vacationing.

  • Harrison was vacationing and he viewed the emergency contact from Intersolar Spaceport with annoyance.

    The Sword | Frank Quattrocchi
  • Does he build another nest and rear another family, or does he go vacationing?

  • While my pals were vacationing I was ranching, and ranching under Old Nick is no vacation.

    The Trail of Conflict | Emilie Baker Loring

British Dictionary definitions for vacation

vacation

/ (vəˈkeɪʃən) /


noun
  1. mainly British a period of the year when the law courts or universities are closed

  2. mainly US and Canadian a period in which a break is taken from work or studies for rest, travel, or recreation: Also called (in Britain and certain other countries) holiday

  1. the act of departing from or abandoning property, etc

verb
  1. (intr) US and Canadian to take a vacation; holiday

Origin of vacation

1
C14: from Latin vacātiō freedom, from vacāre to be empty

Derived forms of vacation

  • vacationless, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012