verb, -brat⋅ed, -brat⋅ing.| 1. | to observe (a day) or commemorate (an event) with ceremonies or festivities: to celebrate Christmas; to celebrate the success of a new play. |
| 2. | to make known publicly; proclaim: The newspaper celebrated the end of the war in red headlines. |
| 3. | to praise widely or to present to widespread and favorable public notice, as through newspapers or novels: a novel celebrating the joys of marriage; the countryside celebrated in the novels of Hardy. |
| 4. | to perform with appropriate rites and ceremonies; solemnize: to celebrate a marriage. |
| 5. | to observe a day or commemorate an event with ceremonies or festivities. |
| 6. | to perform a religious ceremony, esp. Mass or the Lord's Supper. |
| 7. | to have or participate in a party, drinking spree, or uninhibited good time: You look like you were up celebrating all night. |

cel·e·brate (sěl'ə-brāt') v. cel·e·brat·ed, cel·e·brat·ing, cel·e·brates v. tr.
[Middle English celebraten, from Latin celebrāre, celebrāt-, to frequent, celebrate, from celeber, celebr-, frequented, famous.] cel'e·bra'tion n., cel'e·bra'tor n., cel'e·bra·to'ry (sěl'ə-brə-tôr'ē, -tōr'ē, sə-lěb'rə-) adj. |